Cheers To All The Mamas!!!

Hey there, mama! I see you! Waking up early, staying up late (especially during this quarantine!) Kissing boo boos, watching for the millionth time when your kid begs you to “WATCH ME, MOMMMM!” Picking up that same toy again. Reading books, playing games and folding laundry. Trying to make food that your toddler will actually eat. Potty training by just letting them go pantsless and crossing your fingers. Working towards making the days fun, creative and survivable. You. Work. HARD. And with the current state of things, it’s like you’re all also having to work double overtime.

My Mom is one of the most beautiful women on the face of the planet-inside and out. Unfortunately, like a lot of women, she rarely knows it. She's the type of woman who will waive off a compliment, which drives. Me. BANANAS! In fact, now I usually preface my compliments with "Ok Mom, I'm about to compliment you...here it comes...you either have to say "thank you" or nothing at all, but you're not allowed to disagree with me..." It honestly breaks my heart because my mom is AMAZING! She has raised six incredible kids, has been married to my dad for 35 years, worked full time as a school counselor where she makes a difference in kid's lives on a daily basis and manages to do it all with a positive attitude and a genuinely compassionate spirit. That is some sort of super hero! (Mom, if you're reading this, you aren't allowed to disagree! I'm stating facts!)

That said, she's also weathered a lot. She's been the rock that people from all sides have leaned on when someone got cancer or didn't have a place to live or found themselves in an abusive relationship. She carried it all well, but with her empathetic spirit I know it weighed on her. I feel like Mother's Day just doesn't cut it when you're trying to celebrate someone so magnanimous. Someone so impactful and special. Someone so vital to your life. We should celebrate Mother's Year or something! 

If I could give my Mom one thing for Mother's Day, I'd want her to experience feeling 100% beautiful. No caveats or qualifiers. No "oh, well, maybe if I lost 30 pounds" or "I was 20 years ago". Beautiful. Just as she is. Fully and completely. 

I'd want her to look at her face in the mirror and see the gorgeous smile I've been captivated by since the moment I was born. I'd want her to see the vibrant hues of color that make up her hazel eyes. The same eyes that have portrayed feelings of love, acceptance, and understanding and have helped assure me that I'm both seen and known. I'd want her to see the freckles and spots on her hands as evidence of the countless hours she wiped my tears, made me pancakes or brushed my hair. I'd want her to see her stretch marks as evidence that she brought me into this world and gave me life. Most of all, I'd want her to see her physical self as a manifestation of every investment she's poured into everyone around her and for her to declare what everyone around her already knows. That she is a masterpiece. 

Happy Mother's Day, Mommy. You have and always will be breathtakingly beautiful.