Cherishing Motherhood

 I experience Mother's Day from two perspectives, as a mother and as a daughter. Both of these roles require a lot of work and intentionality, and both are to be cherished. Both relationships are blessings in my life and I am thankful to have good relationships with my son and my mom.

As I celebrate Mother's Day 2013, I am a little over a week away from watching my only child graduate from high school. I have been making a concerted effort to keep a positive and upbeat attitude as I walk through this season. It is a milestone in Daniel's life and one that I want to celebrate and join him in his excitement about. The challenge is that my "mother heart" sometimes wants to stop the clock or sit and reminisce about what he was like as a baby, a preschooler, a growing boy, a tween and a teen. I have hundreds of photos that remind me of these stages and it sometimes doesn't seem possible that the years have gone by and it's time for him to finish high school and turn eighteen.

I celebrate Mother's Day as a daughter who is blessed to live geographically close to her mother. We spent several years living across the country from each other, so we know to cherish our close proximity now. I am also blessed that my mother is in good health and lives an active and independent life, while sharing lots of experiences together with our family.

I also come into Mother's day very mindful of the fact that many women my age have lost their mothers to death and I know from the experience with my dad's last days how quickly life can change. There are also many moms my age who have difficult relationships with their children and experience a lot of grief and anguish as they try to love their children well. A third group of women long to be mothers and this day is difficult for them as they fight the temptation to look at their circumstances in a negative light. It all makes me want to be thankful for each day's blessings and to cherish the time I have with my mom and son here on earth.

My mom gave me a plaque one time that has the sentiment, "Mothers hold their children's hands for a while, their hearts forever." I am thankful for the blessing of being held and being able to hold.