On Being a Mother..............

A gift from God, a privilege beyond belief, an enormous responsibility, a 36 hours a day job, a heart that absorbs an aching amount of love.....there are so many things to be said about being a mother. Nothing brings more joy, more tears, more heartache, more worry, more pride. Nothing compares. It is instinct. It is a huge box tied with a big pink or blue bow that every day is opened and new surprises emerge. It is never ending although as mothers there comes a time when we must step back and watch your work fly on their own. You are given a finite number of years to do your job and then you must be on the sidelines, not the playing field. Realize this every day that your child is a child. Then also, realize that when the time comes, that child will walk away as the person you were given the honor of building and forming into an adult with adult responsibilities. Children are works of art and although God is the Creator, we, as mothers, are the artists. We sketch and paint. We teach, guide, lead, and shape. We are given a tiny human being with an enormous capacity to give and receive love and then we are given the years to mold that tiny living breathing creature. And when we become mothers, we turn our eyes backwards and realize just what was so generously given to us by our mothers. I hope that you had a mom who gave you her entire heart, who not only loved, but led by example, who instructed with kindness, but also who was not afraid to set you straight when time and actions demanded it. I hope you had a mother who cheered from the sidelines of your life and also stood quietly and let you absorb not only your successes, but suffer your failures. I hope you had a mother who allowed you to skin your knees, walk your tightropes and learn YOUR curve of life. I did....her name was Willie Pearl Jones Williams...and everyday I live a life that she, in her own very Southern lady way, molded. I have been given the amazing job of being a mother to 4 wonderful children. And now those four children have blessed us with their chosen mates who have doubled my joy as a mother. Thank you Dax and Aly, Devan and Dustin, JR and Cindy and Rachel and Jason. There is no doubt in my mind that if you are a mother, you understand every word I write. And if you are waiting to be a mother, or if you have chosen not to be a mother, then realize that most every person in your life needs your love in whatever capacity you can give it. While there is no love like a mother's love, there is love to be spread throughout your life. And there is love to be received. This is without a doubt the most generous gift we've been given....the gift of love. Happy Mother's Day.