HAPPY MOTHERS DAY! May 9, 2008

This is for the mothers who have sat up
> all night with sick toddlers in their arms,
> wiping up barf laced with Oscar Mayer
> wieners and cherry Kool-Aid saying,
> ‘It’s okay honey, Mommy’s here.’
Who have sat in rocking chairs for hours on end
> soothing crying babies who can’t be comforted.
>This is for all the mothers who show up at
> work with spit-up in their hair and milk stains
> on their blouses and diapers in their purses.
>For al l the mothers who run carpools and
> make cookies and sew Halloween costumes.
> And all the mothers who DON’T.
> This is for the mothers who gave birth to
> babies they’ll never see. And the mothers
> who took those babies and gave them homes.
> This is for the mothers whose priceless art
> collections are hanging on their refrigerator doors.
> And for all the mothers who froze their buns
> on metal bleachers at football or soccer games
> instead of watching from the warmth of their cars.
> And that when their kids asked, ‘Did you see me, Mom?’
> they would say, ‘Of course, I wouldn’t
> have missed it for the world,’ and mean it.  This is for all the mothers who yell at their kids
> in the grocery store and swat them in despair
& gt; when they stomp their feet and scream for ice cream before dinner.
> And for all the mothers who count to ten instead,
> but realize how child abuse happens.
> This is for all the mothers who sat down with
> their children and explained all about making
> babies.And for all the (grand)mothers who
> wanted to, but just couldn’t find the words.
> This is for all the mothers who go
> hungry,so their children can eat.
>  For all the mothers who read ‘Goodnight,
> Moon ‘twice a night for a year. And then
> read it again, ‘Just one more time.’
> This is for all the mothers who taught
> their children to tie their shoelaces before
> they started school. And for all the mothers
> who opted for Velcro instead.
> This is for all the mothers who teach their sons
> to cook and their daughters to sink a jump shot.
> This is for every mother whose head turns
> automatically when a little voice calls ‘Mom?’
> in a crowd, even though they know their
> own offspring are at home or even away
> at college or have their own families.
> This is for all the mothers who sent their kids
> to school with stomach aches, assuring them
> they’d be just FINE once they got there, only
> to get calls from the school nurse an hour later
> asking them to please pick them up. ‘Right away!’
> This is for mothers whose children have gone
> astray,who can’t find the words to reach them.
> For all the mothers who bite their lips until they
> bleed when their 14 year olds dye their hair green.
> < BR>> For all the mothers of the victims of
> recent school shootings, and the mothers
> of those who did the shooting.
> For the mothers of the survivors,
> and the mothers who sat in front of their TVs in horror,
> hugging their child who just came home from school, safely.
>This is for all the mothers who taught their
> children to be peaceful, and now pray
> they come home safely from a war.
>  What makes a good mother anyway?
> Is it patience? Compassion? Broad hips?
> The ability to nurse a baby, cook dinner, and
> sew a button on a shirt, all at the same time?
> Or is it in her heart?
> Is it the ache she feels when she
> watches her son or daughter disappear
> down the street, walking to school alone
> for the very first time ?
>The jolt that takes her from sleep to
> dread,from bed to crib, at 2 A.M. to put
> her hand on the back of a sleeping baby?
> The panic, years later, that comes again
> at 2A.M. when she just wants to hear
> their key in the door and know they
> are safe again in her home?
> Or the need to flee from wherever she is
> and hug her child when she hears news
> of a fire, a car accident, a child dying?
> The emotions of motherhood are
> universal and so are our thoughts for
> young mothers stumbling through diaper
> changes and sleep deprivation…
> And for mature mothers learning to let go.
> For working mothers and stay-at-home mothers;
> single mothers and married mothers;
>  mothers with money, mothers without.
> This is for you all. For all of us…
> Hang in there. In the end we can
> only do the best we can. Tell our children
> everyday that we love them. And pray
> and never stop being a mother…
>
> > ‘Home is what catches you when
> you fall - and we all fall.’