Mom, We Treasure You

I once told my mom that mothers can’t get tired. What can I say? I was young. I couldn’t understand how the woman who seemed to be everywhere at once doing everything at the same time could claim such a paltry state as tiredness. I have since had to apologize.

Now that I’m a mother I’ve come to realize that being a mom means that you’re always tired. It seems as though from the moment of conception until your child moves out (I’m not sure I’m still going through the process) that you live in a perpetual fog of exhaustion.

But still moms press on: wiping noses, caring for the sick, preparing meals, finding lost toys and things, making sure there are enough clean clothes – and I continue to be amazed at the number of dirty clothes that can be generated by even one child, I applaud you mothers who have multiple children–

Moms push through exhaustion and ensure that homework is done and check to make sure bags are packed, clothes are ironed and ready for wear, rooms are cleaned and everyone has enough attention and love.

Sometimes it seems as though a mother crams 40 hours of work into a single day, yet she forgets her worth. So I’m taking this moment to say to mothers everywhere:

Mom, we cherish you.

We see you carrying the weight of the family.

We know you’re exhausted but still, you put everyone’s need before your own.

Moms, we value you.

Too often we forget to say thanks for all the wonderful, awesome, impossible things you do every day.

Now I would love to tell you that come Mother’s Day you’re going to get the day off.

I would love to tell you that you will receive three beautifully prepared meals and that all your whims and every desire will be met by the little minions – er child (or children) that live in your home.

That will not be the case.

Sorry, new mom. Nothing will change. The chores will still need to be done. The laundry won’t fold itself. Those diapers will still need to be changed … there will still be that siren cry of:

“Mo-ooo-mmm!”

“What’s the point of Mother’s Day then?” you may be asking (especially if you’re a new mom).

It’s that day when we give ourselves permission to bask in sloppy kisses and lopsided meals made with love.

It’s the day when we allow ourselves a moment to appreciate the treasure that Jehovah has lavished us with.

For a few short hours, we think of ourselves as caretakers of precious, precocious ones, coworkers with God shaping the minds and hearts of the next generation.

If I seem a little sloppy it’s because I’m remembering the first smile, that first wobbly step, those moments when kisses were on a giveaway, it’s the little moments that are treasured … those things that don’t make it into the photo album, so –

Happy Mother’s Day, Mom. You’re beautiful!

What’s your Mother’s Day fantasy? How will you be treating your Mom on that day?

Linking up at Coffee For Your Heart, Soul Survivor