I look forward to Mother’s Day more than any other holiday. It ranks
higher than Christmas, Thanksgiving and my birthday combined.
I think it’s because I have glorified my own mother for so long and that my lifelong dream of becoming a mother finally has been fulfilled. It was to the point where I found it hard to sleep on Mother’s Day Eve.
When I woke up, it was to my 16-month-old babbling in his room. I got up and got his morning milk ready. Then came diapers and feeding and crying and soothing — just like any other day. I emptied the dishwasher and did a few loads of laundry — just like any other weekend.
And you know what? I didn’t mind.
Maybe a day off would be fun, but I don’t think it ever would feel right. I keep this family unit humming along and, even though this day is about celebrating motherhood, it doesn’t mean I want to depart from it.
Sure I’m frazzled and tired — just as much as the next mother. I wish there was more time in the day. I wish I could spend more time with my kid. I wish clothes washed themselves and that the dog could feed himself and that the cats knew how to use a toilet — that would be miraculous.
But the truth is I have my role in this house and it is important, vital even, to our family. And I like it that way. I like being needed. I like knowing, at the end of an exhausting day, that I did something important to benefit my family — to further our prosperity.
It allows me further insight into my own mother’s life and my grandmother before her. There was a strength in these women that was palpable, but I saw them give of themselves more than they should. For a long time, I thought this wasn’t right — that others should help them, that society should be more accommodating, that recognition of their efforts should be more pronounced beyond a single day.
But now I know that they gave so much of themselves because they wanted to — no, because they needed to. The fulfillment I experience from giving completely of myself is indescribable.
Yes, it’s hard, and some days I am not so magnanimous about my life’s duties. But today, on this wonderful, glorious day, I celebrate my mother and grandmothers as well as the immeasurable joy of being a mother myself.
Yes, it’s so worth it.
— Sarah Leach is content editor at The Holland Sentinel. Contact her at (616) 546-4278 or sarah.leach@hollandsentinel.com.
I think it’s because I have glorified my own mother for so long and that my lifelong dream of becoming a mother finally has been fulfilled. It was to the point where I found it hard to sleep on Mother’s Day Eve.
When I woke up, it was to my 16-month-old babbling in his room. I got up and got his morning milk ready. Then came diapers and feeding and crying and soothing — just like any other day. I emptied the dishwasher and did a few loads of laundry — just like any other weekend.
And you know what? I didn’t mind.
Maybe a day off would be fun, but I don’t think it ever would feel right. I keep this family unit humming along and, even though this day is about celebrating motherhood, it doesn’t mean I want to depart from it.
Sure I’m frazzled and tired — just as much as the next mother. I wish there was more time in the day. I wish I could spend more time with my kid. I wish clothes washed themselves and that the dog could feed himself and that the cats knew how to use a toilet — that would be miraculous.
But the truth is I have my role in this house and it is important, vital even, to our family. And I like it that way. I like being needed. I like knowing, at the end of an exhausting day, that I did something important to benefit my family — to further our prosperity.
It allows me further insight into my own mother’s life and my grandmother before her. There was a strength in these women that was palpable, but I saw them give of themselves more than they should. For a long time, I thought this wasn’t right — that others should help them, that society should be more accommodating, that recognition of their efforts should be more pronounced beyond a single day.
But now I know that they gave so much of themselves because they wanted to — no, because they needed to. The fulfillment I experience from giving completely of myself is indescribable.
Yes, it’s hard, and some days I am not so magnanimous about my life’s duties. But today, on this wonderful, glorious day, I celebrate my mother and grandmothers as well as the immeasurable joy of being a mother myself.
Yes, it’s so worth it.
— Sarah Leach is content editor at The Holland Sentinel. Contact her at (616) 546-4278 or sarah.leach@hollandsentinel.com.
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