six word sunday: He's the reason for it all.

six word sunday challenge

Yesterday we met up with an old friend in San Francisco, and he commented on what a calm and happy kid Donovan is. I am, too. I sometimes get so wrapped up in daily struggles and moody days that I forget, but really it is amazing to me what a calm, happy, social, joyful child he is. I feel so blessed to be his mother. The other day I was listening to a program on the radio about teenage boys, and I looked at D as he played and smiled at me and I was suddenly flooded by several different emotions: grateful that he was born into our family and thus has an abundance of love and opportunities in his life, sadness at all the children who don't have that, and pressure at the responsibility of trying to raise him into a responsible and caring human being. It's funny how I accept the responsibility and pressure of his future rearing, but not for how well he's turned out so far (in that I see his current disposition as being more innate to him rather than a result of what I've done as a parent).

Mother's Day is supposed to be a day when the spouses and children of the world say thank you to the mothers in their lives. As it should be-- parenthood and, in our culture at least where mothers still take on more of the responsibility and demands on raising children, motherhood are the toughest, most demanding, and quite easily most important jobs in the world. Yet there's little pay or recognition, and no required training to help us figure out our way. We've come to believe that most of the time for something to be truly amazing and awe-inspiring they should be very rare. Commonplace events, because they occur so often, by their very nature don't deserve much attention, right? Motherhood, childbirth, and children are among the most commonplace things that have ever existed, yet they also deserve to be among the most awe-inspiring and precious. We must all be crazy, as it seems no one in their right mind would willingly give up their freedom to instead devote all of their energy, time, and money to these little beings for 18+ years. And, amazingly, most of us are doing a pretty good job of it, and it is from our hands that the next generation will grow up and come to lead the world.

I look forward to a mother's day spent with my husband and beautiful baby boy. But I also want to take this moment to send out my mother's day wishes and a very heartfelt thank you to all you mothers out there. It is you mothers who have carried me through so many rough moments in the 15 months since I became one of you, and I am eternally grateful for all the love, help, and support I have received. I know I will count on it again many times in the coming years, and I hope I can also offer the same back to you when needed.

Happy Mother's Day!