A Tribute to Mothers

Your pregnancy left you breathless with anticipation and joy! Your labor just left you . . . breathless. After a nine-month wait, you hear that first tiny cry of a new life entering the world. It's a moment of celebration, a moment that will remain etched on your memory for as long as you live. It's the moment you became . . . a mother!

Motherhood is a selective sorority. Although many girls grow up to be women, not all women have the privilege of becoming mothers. This can be due to medical complications beyond the women's control, or it can be a deliberate choice. For those of us who accomplish the rarified task of giving birth, however, we wear like a badge of honor the title of "lifebearer". It is our job to push new life into the world, to give birth to tiny infants who have the potential to find the cure for A.I.D.S., promote world peace, or develop a workable solution to the crisis of world hunger. What an awesome responsibility mothers take upon themselves! A mother is the very definition of self-sacrifice and love.

What makes mothers so worthy of adulation? Here are a few of my observations:

A mother will breastfeed her baby for half an hour, even though she may be exhausted herself. She will caress her baby's tiny head and gently stroke her hair, even though her body is BEGGING for sleep. She'll revel in the contented look on her infant's face as her baby falls deeply into a contented slumber. A mother will continue to hold her baby for twenty minutes after she has fallen asleep, for no other reason than to marvel at her angelic countenance, her perfect little fingers, and the soft little wisps of hair on top of her fragile head. Then she'll lay her ever so gently in the crib, pleased that her baby was finally calmed by the warm sustenance beneath her swollen breasts. Her baby is content with no other kind of milk. If it doesn't come from Mother's breast, it is unacceptable. Other women can hold, cuddle, bathe, change, or play with her baby, but only SHE can truly satisfy her infant's primal need to suck. Of the millions of women on the planet, she is the ONE person that her baby needs. No other woman will suffice.

When a child is ill, a mother will put herself at great risk to nurse her back to health. If the disease is communicable, a mother will allow herself to be vulnerable to the virus in order to comfort the sick baby. No matter how old the child is, a mother will still consider her a "baby", in need of nurture, comfort, and extra special care. A mother will cuddle up to a feverish child to comfort her, even though doing so can clearly put her own health at risk.

A mother loves her children unconditionally. Even on mornings when the children are grouchy because they don't want to go to school, a mother will offer them breakfast, insisting that they not leave the house on an empty stomach. She may endure verbal insults from her youngsters, who just want to be left alone, but she will offer food ANYWAY, because as always, she is thinking about THEIR needs.

A mother will drive at four o' clock in the morning, barefoot, in a raging thunderstorm to rush her child to the nearest Emergency Room if there's a problem. Inconvenience is of no concern to her. Her child needs help, and it can't wait until daybreak!

A mother isn't satisfied with feeding her children Chicken Noodle soup according to the directions on the can. Her children are SPECIAL, after all. She'll add extra pieces of chicken and a few favorite seasonings to the soup: a little garlic powder here, a little soy sauce there . . . Her children are worth the few extra touches that she adds. No matter how much longer she takes for the soup to be just right, she doesn't mind. They're SPECIAL, after all. They're her BABIES, even if they're sixteen years old and just earned their first driver's licenses.

A mother will clean up messes that she didn't make, just so her children's rooms will be more comfortable. It doesn't matter to her that SHE didn't play with the Legos or scatter them on the floor. She'll pick them up ANYWAY, and then vacuum the floor, even though her children might not even notice her efforts. She's happiest when she's giving, and she finds myriads of opportunities to give to her children.

A mother will put her children's clothes in the washing machine and launder them FIRST. She'll wash her own clothes later. They need clothes for school, after all, and she doesn't need to get dressed up to clean the house. In the depths of her heart, she places her children's needs before her own.

A mother will attempt to help her child with a math problem, even though the whole problem-solving formula is way over her head and the only fractions she uses are made simpler by the markings on the plastic measuring cups.

A mother will love her children enough to discipline them, although she will NEVER administer corporal punishment unless it's absolutely necessary. A mother will only spank a child in a spirit of love rather than anger, and a mother will willingly welcome a repentant child back into her arms, even though only moments before, the child may have cut her emotions like a knife.

A mother will graciously accept a handful of dandelions from a small child and fawn over these weeds as though they were an armful of expensive roses. The child's willingness to give is more precious to her than nature's most spectacular flowers.

Society will never award mothers all the honor that should be bestowed upon them, although "Mother's Day" has been appropriately set aside for this purpose. Mothers should be celebrated EVERY day, not merely on a particular day of the year.

I encourage you to keep in touch with YOUR mother if you're fortunate enough to still have her. If you live in different states or even different countries, e-mail can close the gap between you so that the miles don't seem so distant. Celebrate her as often as you can. She gave birth to you, she often put herself at great personal risk in order to care for you, and she loves you unconditionally. Do something great for you AND your mom. Make EVERY day "Mother's Day"!