Many of the biggest holidays seem to be more magical and meaningful as a child: Christmas, Easter, Halloween, Columbus Day. As I grow older, its easy to become cynical of these dates as the conspiracy of card printers, electronic stores, and candy makers. What once was magical time becomes an onslaught of stress, bills, and unwanted family visits.
One holiday that has taken the opposite course for me is Mother’s Day.
As a child, Mother’s day was a day my teachers or my Dad had me make an otherwise terrible craft to give to my mom (luckily for me, Mom’s don’t care what these things look like). As I got older, Mother’s day became a last minute card purchase and quick note to my mom, usually a few days late, saying something about how great she has been.
Then came the day that my wife became a mother. That changed things. Mother’s day quickly became a celebration of the woman who gave birth to my son. That first year is one you really don’t want to mess up on, and I’m willing to bet 98% of men are unsure what to do. But we do our best.
The amazing thing about watching my wife become a mother is how great she is at it, and how much deeper that role gets with each passing year. It never gets easier. In fact, it gets more complicated, and more demanding, as time passes. I have seen my wife love more and hurt more as a Mother than she could as a daughter, girlfriend, fiancé, or a wife. There may not be any bond stronger than the bond between Mother and child.
One interesting bonus of watching my wife become stronger as a mother is that I now have a glimpse of all the junk I put my mom through, and how mighty she was to put up with and love me. I have realized that I owe her much more than I can repay.
So this year, may I endeavor to make the mothers in my life know how mighty they are, simply because they mother. There is nothing ordinary about that.
Mighty was based on a blog post written by Lisa-Jo Baker, who believes motherhood should come with its own super hero cape and blogs about it at lisajobaker.com. Her words have been incredibly inspiring to my wife and many other mothers I know. I challenge you to encourage the mothers in your community long after Mother’s Day by connecting them with Lisa-Jo at her blog. You could send an email with the link or print a handout with some info about it. The words found there will bring them strength when they need it the most (every day).
