I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the waters to create many ripples. - Mother Teresa

Sunday 11 May 2014

Happy Mother's Day...

It's the end of Mother's Day and like so many other things that populate my ever growing "to do" list, I intended to do this earlier.
I wanted to say something great, something witty & inspired that conveyed my love and admiration for mothers.  At the very least get it posted before the clock struck 12.  I have always had respect for moms but since becoming one, it has increased ten fold and I am regularly humbled by the women I have met as part of this "club".  What mothers are capable of never ceases to amaze me and I am regularly inspired by all that they do.  Comparatively writing a blog seems like a small thing however, with an infant at home right now I am exhausted.

Being a mom requires you to constantly make trade offs and decisions.  Some of mine can be described as more significant (how do I ensure my child hits her milestones, did I read enough to her today?) than others (do these pants even match this sweater? do I write a blog post or go to bed?)  However, not a day goes by when I don't question some (if not all) of them, often wrestling with the guilt that accompanies some of my less than perfect choices.

Time is an interesting variable.  It has the power to mercifully erase the memory of days when I should have chosen differently than I did.  It also has the ability to do the same for days I register small victories and everything went smoothly.  There are so many things that happen over the course of raising a child that it would be impossible to remember them all.  The unfortunate thing is that I tend to regularly remember what didn't go as planned, the times when I fell short.

The above seems to be a common refrain I hear amongst other moms, most recently one in particular.
At the risk of making this too personal but in the spirit of Mother's Day I hope she knows that although more of the "do-over" days may spring to her mind, as the "kid" in this situation I remember more of the "wins".  The memories my brain has chosen to carry include homemade strawberry milkshakes and time jumping through waves on the lake. Keeping that in mind, today I chose to procrastinate, instead of writing this post in a timely fashion I opted to have time with my family eating chocolate cake and singing Baby Beluga in the backyard.  Based on my albeit limited experience I suspect that my daughter will benefit most from times like this and though I may eventually not remember all of them, she just might and that makes it all worthwhile.

To every mom, I hope whether or not it was a day of sunshine and shakes, you were able to do whatever you wanted with your little person(s),  regardless if you or your kid were wearing matching pants.  Happy Mother's Day.

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