This is for all the mothers who froze their bottoms off
on metal benches at soccer games Friday night
instead of watching from cars, so that when
their kids asked, "Did you see my goal?"
they could say, "Of course, wouldn't have missed it for the world," and
mean it.
This is for all the mothers who have sat up all night
with sick toddlers in their arms,
wiping up sick laced with that days dinner and
juice saying, "It's OK honey,Mammy's here."
This is for all the mothers of Kosovo who fled in the night and can't find
their children.
This is for the mothers who gave birth to babies they'll never see. And
the mothers who took those babies and made them homes.
For all the mothers of the victims of the Beslan shooting,
and the mothers of the murderers.
For the mothers of the survivors,
and the mothers who sat in front of their TVs
in horror, hugging their child who just came home from
school, safely.
For all the mothers who run carpools and make cookies and sew Halloween
costumes. And all the mothers who DON'T.
What makes a good mother anyway?
Is it patience?
Compassion?
Broad hips?
The ability to nurse a baby, cook dinner, and sew a button on a shirt, all
at the same time?
Or is it heart? Is it the ache you feel when you watch your son or
daughter disappear down the street,
walking to school alone for the very first time?
The jolt that takes you from sleep to dread,
from bed to cot at 2 a.m. to put your
hand on the back of a sleeping baby?
The need to flee from wherever you are and hug your child when you hear
news of a school shooting, a fire, a car accident, a baby dying?
I think so.
So this is for all the mothers who sat down
with their children and explained all about making babies. And for all the
mothers who wanted to but just couldn't.
This is for reading "Goodnight, Moon" twice a night for a year. And then
reading it again.
"Just one more time."
This is for all the mothers who mess up.
Who yell at their kids in the grocery
store and smack them in despair
and stomp their feet like a tired 2 year old
who wants ice cream before dinner.
This is for all the mothers who taught their daughters
to tie their shoelaces before they started school.
And for all the mothers who opted for Velcro instead.
For all the mothers who bite their lips-
sometimes until they bleed-when their
14 year olds dye their hair green.
Who lock themselves in the bathroom
when babies keep crying and won't stop.
This is for all the mothers who show up at work
with sick in their hair and
milk stains on their blouses and nappies in their purse.
This is for all the mothers who teach their sons
to cook and their daughters to shoot pool..
This is for all mothers whose heads turn automatically
when a little voice calls "Mam?" in a crowd,
even though they know their own offspring are at home.
This is for mothers who put flowers and teddy bears
on their children's graves.
This is for mothers whose children have gone astray,
who can't find the words to reach them.
This is for all the mothers who sent their child to school with stomach
aches, assuring them they'd be just FINE once they got there, only to get
calls from the school nurse an hour later asking them to please pick them
up. Right away.
This is for young mothers stumbling
through diaper changes and sleep deprivation.
And mature mothers learning to let go.
For working mothers and stay-at-home mothers.
Single mothers and married mothers.
Mothers with money, mothers without. This is for you all. So hang in there.