Chauffeur, chef, cheerleader, ATM, housekeeper, grocery shopper, friend-- Mom. If you were to kick it old school and drag out that old Webster, you would find that mom is a noun. But I do believe that is incorrect. You see, to me, mom is a verb. It's all about love, and love is always an action. At least that's what I've learned from my mom.
Anyone can be a mom in name just like anyone can be an employee in name, but what separates the good from the best is the investment given, the sacrifices made, and the love poured in. There is no such thing as a perfect mother, but Mama always knows best.They call it "mother's instinct" for a good reason. It's simply a gift.
When I was just a little girl, my mom was the one who pushed me in the red swing in the backyard and asked how my day was. She read "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" to me and helped me catch butterflies by sneaking up on them real quiet-like. We watched Barney together, and she pretended that my imaginary friends were just as real as I was, and held my baby dolls for me while I fixed their bottles. When we were in the car, she she didn't hesitate to join in on the Dr. Jean cassette tape with me as if we were really on a "Bear Hunt."
She instilled in me the value of education, taking me to the library as often as she could and was patient with me as she taught me how to read at our dining room table. I am especially thankful for the grace she bestowed upon me during that ever so trying time.
As I got a little older our afternoons at the swing set turned into evenings at the soccer field or the gym. And though it was a little more stressful and time consuming, nonetheless you packed my snack and water bottle and broke out the lawn chair happily, watching every minute (because there were no smartphones). You listened intently to my reasoning on how there was no way that the top seeded team could beat us because we were just that good (powered by lemonade).
You taught me about what it means to be a God-fearing woman and how to trust Him in even the deepest of valleys. You've shown me what it looks like to put other's needs before my convenience, and for that alone, I'll forever be thankful.
You've been at every game and every award ceremony, even when I thought it wasn't cool for you to be (we all go through that phase). You challenged me to be nothing less than my best in everything. When I encountered my first heartbreak (and second and third), you were there to pick up the pieces and remind me that I am not defined by any guy.
You've let me make my own mistakes, even when you know best all along because that's what the best moms do. And I know that in those times, you were in constant prayer that I would make the right choices.
You are my best friend and always one phone call away. You have endured the mental break downs, and the "I'm changing my major," talks. And through every up and every down you have loved me all the same. Love is always an action.
So you see, Mom is not a noun, it's a verb. A transitive verb at that, and one that is capable of taking on every tense. I owe the person I am today to my Mama because Mama always knows best.
