When we are little kids, we believe that everyone has the same type of home life that we do. If we have a loving mother and father, we assume that all of our friends at school do as well. If we don't get along with our siblings, we'll probably assume that our friends can't stand theirs either. It's interesting that as we grow older, we begin to learn and understand the differences that may set us apart from our peers.
I was raised by my father and his mother; my grandmother. She adopted me at a young age and she has always been the maternal force in my life. Last semester I took a class on mothering and motherhood and discovered that there is a term for the act of raising another person's child as your own: other-mothering. There are so many different kinds of other-mothering; aunts can mother nieces and nephews, sisters can mother their siblings just by taking care of them in place of their mother. My grandmother was my "other-mother." I expect that she always will be and I am thankful for her. It goes without saying that she did everything for me that a biological mother could have done, and this article reaches out to anyone who wants to thank their mother, or mother figure, for being exactly who they are and doing everything they've done to shape you into the person you are.
Thank you.
Thank you for feeding, clothing, and bathing me. Thank you for doing my hair when I was too little to understand how a comb worked. Thank you for teaching me how to use mascara and eyeliner when I reached high school. Thank you for making sure I was always on time, and for helping me gain the knowledge to begin applying for jobs and for college. Thank you for teaching me that girls can do anything that boys can do - if anything, we can do it better - and for instilling power and courage into me at a young age.
Thank you for wiping my tears during my first heartbreak. Thank you for reminding me to wear a jacket even if it was warm out because you never know when it might rain. Thank you for never making me feel like a burden or a pest. Thank you for helping me with my homework and never letting me call myself dumb for not understanding something. Thank you for reminding me that it's okay to ask for help and that it's okay to cry - these things don't make us weak. They make us human.
You have been my rock for 20 years now. I can't remember a time before you and frankly, I don't want to. Because you are all I know, and you've done a terrific job of raising me. Thank you for everything, for the extra money when I don't ask for it - and when I do - just because you're worried that I'm not eating regularly enough. Thank you for the gifts and books and little knick-knacks you've given me over the years; I look at them now and I am grateful that I have so many reminders of you everywhere I turn.
I'm telling you this because I know you don't realize it...and maybe I don't say it enough.
You're my entire world.
