Mamma Mia! Will You Kick Back or Kick Up your Heels?

Whether you kick back or kick up your heels, relax and enjoy all ye moms. This is your time for a sabbatical. I've always wanted the day off but that continues to elude me somehow, no matter how carefully I plan otherwise. For those of you who manage the entire day off, my deepest admiration.

My fondest memories of motherhood are the hours I spent reading with my children. The undertow of excitement was like Christmas Eve every evening.  With animation in my voice, wonder in their eyes, and that warm feeling of sharing, giving, and receiving we each grew in different ways yet remained connected in heart.  An invisible glow surrounded us like a cocoon as we lost ourselves in the reading hour. Those were the good times which made the hard times worthwhile. Was it annoying to put aside my chores sometimes for this? Yes, indeed. Did I grow weary of Mickey’s Red Ball or The Very Hungry Caterpillar?  Absoluely. Were the Harry Potter books endlessly long and sometimes difficult to explain? You bet! Do I regret reading A View from Saturday, Chasing Red Bird, The Wind in the Door? Never!

Mother is also the voice inside our heads whispering “do the right thing” and “be kind to others”. There are a few other voices I hear from my mother which I choose to ignore, but we won’t go there. My mother gave me the gift of laughter and the ability to enjoy simple pleasures. She taught by example how to be strong and resourceful when juggling many tasks, which are never easy raising children!  Most of all, my mother taught me to do my best, believe in myself, and never give up.

Motherhood is a vast and unexplored territory and requires a great amount of ingenuity and fortitude. It’s more than squeezing in T-Ball between laundry, finding your makeup destroyed by dress-up artists and holding back your tears, teaching cartwheels while aching all over or giving lessons on blowing bubbles and whistling. It’s more than tutoring until midnight, dreaded teacher conferences, scraping together pennies to buy your daughter that perfect dress or your son those expensive Nike Air shoes.

Motherhood is also about understanding your children and learning what each one needs to find their way and feel confident. There’s an art to knowing when to push harder and when to back off or even when to kiss vs. wave goodbye. We moms don’t always get things right but we always try. Mothers interview friends and validate cover stories like the sleuths we are and drink buckets and buckets of patience to stay sane. We are investigative reporters, scientific researchers, committee chairs, and nurses of broken hearts. Mothers are career counselors and curators of egos and often walk around like zombies due to lack of sleep and worry.

On Mother’s Day bring me flowers and breakfast in bed but most of all remember my daily dose of love, respect, and kindness every day. May your Mother’s Day be filled with fond memories and peaceful moments. Take this opportunity to indulge and do something that makes you happy. Perhaps take a stroll to Duluth Town Green for Barefoot In the Park and enjoy the many displays of beautiful art work.  You so deserve it and you won’t be disappointed!  Mother is to child as water is to flower: Endlessly nurturing.