Let me tell you a story about a woman who gave birth to a son at the age of 20 while in nursing school. A story about a woman who graduated from nursing school as a single mother with two sons. A story of a woman who worked day and night as a labor and delivery nurse just to support her two kids. A story about a woman who got remarried, gave birth to another daughter and adopted two boys. Yes this woman is real and yes she accomplished all of these things with a smile on her face. This woman is my mother who I love and respect so much. She is my greatest inspiration and my biggest fan. She never missed one cross country meet, one band concert, or one track meet. This is an open letter of encouragement to all of the hardworking moms out there trying to balance work, sleep, raising kids and doing it all with a smile on their face.
Moms live on a 24/7 work schedule that involves waking up at 6 am to make breakfast, get the kids dressed for school, and arguing with one of her kids because they do not want to wake up and get dressed. Now after finally getting all of her kids in her super fashionable SUV she finally gets them to school and finally gets to work a few minutes late. Once a mom gets off work her day does not end there, she has to go to pick up her kids from whatever daycare or babysitter that they are at then take them to all of the fun extra activities that her kids like do which involve soccer practice, gymnastics, baseball/softball practice, football practice, basketball practice and probably the funnest one of them all, a parent teacher conference about why little Tommy pushed a kid off of the swing set. After finally getting her kids dressed and in bed she can finally lay down on the couch and watch her HBO drama that she recorded the night before. A mom doesn't even get a full night of sleep, she gets woken up at 2:30 in morning by the soft whisper of her kid telling her that they had a bad dream and wet the bed. Then 6 am rolls around and it's time to repeat the whole cycle again.
Moms are not just our personal taxi drivers, money makers and homework helpers, they are much more than that. Moms are our therapists, care givers, and our best friend who love us no matter how bad we mess up. Moms always know the best things to say at any given moment and know how to give the most effective support when needed. Moms are our biggest fans and biggest supporters. These are just a few of the many things that can define a mom.
I recently injured myself in a flag football game (yes flag football) where I broke my wrist. Now the first person I called was my mom to let her know what happened, but the second I heard her voice tears just started falling from my eyes. This is the effect that moms have on their children, that in our greatest need we seek comfort in our mothers. So to all of our mothers we say thank you and that we love you.