This is for all the mothers of
Kosovo who fled in the night and can't
find their children.
This is for the mothers who gave
birth to babies they'll never see and for
the mothers who took those babies and
gave them homes.
For all the mothers who run
carpools and make cookies and sew
Halloween costumes.
What makes a good mother anyway? Is
it patience? Compassion? The ability to
nurse a baby, cook dinner, and sew a
button on a shirt, all at the same time?
Or is it heart?
Is it the ache you feel when you
watch your son or daughter disappear down
the street, walking to school alone for
the very first time? The jolt that takes
you from sleeping at 2 a.m. to put your
hand on the back of a sleeping baby? Is it the need to flee from
wherever you are and hug your child when
you hear news of a school shooting, a
fire, a car accident, a baby dying? I
think so.
This is for reading "Goodnight,
Moon" twice a night for a year. And then
reading it again, "Just one more time".
This is for all the mothers who
taught their children to tie their
shoelaces before they started to school
and for all the mothers who opted for
Velcro instead.
For all the mothers who bit their lips
(sometimes until they bleed) when their
14 year olds dyed their hair green.
This is for all mothers who show up
at work with spit-up in their hair and
diapers in their purse.
This is for mothers who teach their
sons to cook and their daughters to sink a jump
shot.
This is for all mothers whose heads
turn automatically when a little voice calls "Mom?" in a crowd, even
though they know their own offsprings are
at home or are grown.
This is for mothers who put
pinwheels and teddy bears on their
children's graves.
This is for all the mothers whose
children have gone astray and who can't
find words to reach them.
This is for young mothers stumbling
through diaper changes and sleep
deprivation. And mature mothers learning
to let go.
For working moms and stay-at-home
moms. Single mothers and married mothers.
Mothers with money and mothers without.
This is for you, so hang in there.
The world would be a terrible place without the
love
of mothers everywhere.
