Thoughts for Mothers' Day

 I posted the following on Facebook on May 10, 2018:

Today, as I was cleaning up the mess that resulted from my daughter accidentally knocking a bottle of salsa off the shelf of my pantry, I admit that I wanted to just run away and forget it was there. Salsa was everywhere! It was on the walls, the door, on the flour bucket, the oatmeal bucket, the potato bucket, up the walls...I mean seriously, this thing exploded on everything! And somewhere in the pile of tomatoes, onions, peppers, and spices, there were shards of broken glass, and yes, I cut myself cleaning it all up. Up to this point in the day, I had already changed two stinky diapers, swept up half a bag of cheerios, which my toddler kindly dumped on the floor for me, and I had navigated a Lego land mine in my oldest's room to collect his dirty laundry that was everywhere except in his hamper. It wasn't even 11 a.m. yet! I was trying to think positively, to resist the urge to curl up in a ball and cry, telling myself that I was the mom, this was my house, I could do this. Which got me thinking about my own mom.

She has tackled days and messes like this far more than I. Once, I was the one creating havoc on her home. Once, I was the one with the soiled diaper. Once I was the one that had to have her hair braided every. single. day. Oh, and I had three sisters and two brothers. Yes, my mom had days like this, only worse because she had twice the number of kids that I do. As I thought about her this morning, on my knees wiping up salsa, I wanted to yell, "This is why we celebrate Mother's Day! Being a mom is such a thankless job, and somebody out there realized it, and knowing how inadequate it was, wanted to create one day to honor all those mothers out there...the ones who try not to cry over spilled milk and salsa explosions.

But not only that, it is a day to honor all the other moms.

The mom who would give anything to have a little toddler tornado destroying her house, but instead tries to entertain a stranger's toddler to help avoid a meltdown in the check-out line.

The mom who, despite thousands of fertility shots, still mourns her empty womb and empty arms, yet still manages to love her best friend's babies and spoil them rotten.

The mom who, after thousands of fertility shots, rejoices in the children running around her house, and who feels bad when she complains about the messes because she knows so many women who wish they had messes to clean.

The mom who teaches first grade and nurtures and loves those borrowed kids, investing her whole heart into them in the hopes that they will love learning as much as she does.

The mom who is single and raising children on her own, making it through each day knowing there will be no relief after work gets out.

The mom who is single and dreaming of marriage and children one day, but in the meantime spoils her nieces and nephews rotten.

The mom whose babies are all grown and having babies of their own.

The mom whose baby is in heaven.

The mom whose mom is in heaven.

The mom who is in the middle of the adoption roller coaster ride, whose heart has been broken a few times during this process.

The mom who brings her ill neighbor some soup.

I could go on and on. There really are too many to list here.

I know that Mother's Day is hard for a lot of us, and often, we don't feel like we deserve all these accolades. Let us be gracious and accepting of the praise and start believing that we really have earned it. All mothers deserve all the praise and more. All women are mothers, and Mother's Day is for all women.