Mothers
>
>If you send this to just one person, it should make it all the way around
>the world by Mother's Day.
>
>This is for the mothers who have sat up all night with sick toddlers in
>their arms, wiping up barf laced with Oscar Mayer wieners and cherry
>Kool-Aid saying, "It's okay honey, Mommy's here."
>Who have sat in rocking chairs for hours on end soothing crying babies who
>can't be comforted.
>
>This is for all the mothers who show up at work with spit-up in their hair
>and milk stains on their blouses and diapers in their purse.
>For all the mothers who run carpools and make cookies and sew Halloween
>costumes. And all the mothers who DON'T.
>
>This is for the mothers who gave birth to babies they'll never see. And the
>mothers who took those babies and gave them homes.
>
>This is for the mothers whose priceless art collections are hanging on
>their
>refrigerator doors.
>And for all the mothers who froze their buns on metal bleachers at football
>or soccer games instead of watching from the warmth of their cars, so that
>when their kids asked, "Did you see me, Mom?" they could say, "Of course, I
>wouldn't have missed it for the world," and mean it.
>
>This is for all the mothers who yell at their kids in the grocery store and
>swat them in despair when they stomp their feet and scream for ice cream
>before dinner. And for all the mothers who count to ten instead, but
>realize
>how child abuse happens.
>
>This is for all the mothers who sat down with their children and explained
>all about making babies. And for all the (grand) mothers who wanted to, but
>just couldn't find the words.
>
>This is for all the mothers who go hungry, so their children can eat. For
>all the mothers who read "Goodnight, Moon" twice a night for a year. And
>then read it again. "Just one more time."
>
>This is for all the mothers who taught their children to tie their
>shoelaces
>before they started school. And for all the mothers who opted for Velcro
>instead.
>
>This is for all the mothers who teach their sons to cook and their
>daughters
>to sink a jump shot.
>
>This is for every mother whose head turns auto matically when a little
>voice
>calls "Mom?" in a crowd, even though they know their own offspring are at
>home -- or even away at college.
>
>This is for all the mothers who sent their kids to school with stomach
>aches
>assuring them they'd be just FINE once they got there, only to get calls
>from the school nurse an hour later asking them to please pick them up.
>Right away.
>
>This is for mothers whose children have gone astray, who can't find the
>words to reach them.
>
>This is for all the step-mothers who raised another woman's child or
>children, and gave their time, attention, and love... sometimes totally
>unappreciated!
>
>For all the mothers who bite their lips until they bleed when their
>14-year-olds dye their hair green.
>
>For all the mothers of the victims of recent school shootings, and the
>mothers of those who did the shooting.
>
>For the mothers of the survivors, and the mothers who sat in front of their
>TVs in horror, hugging their child who just came home from school, safely.
>
>This is for all the mothers who taught their children to be peaceful, and
>now pray they come home safely from a war.
>
>What makes a good Mother anyway? Is it patience? Compassion? Broad hips?
>The ability to nurse a baby, cook dinner, and sew a button on a shirt, all
>at the same time? Or is it in her 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 sleep to dread,
>from bed to crib at 2 A.M. to put your hand on the back of a sleeping baby?
>Th e panic, years later, that comes again at 2 A.M. when you just want to
>hear their key in the door and know they are safe again in your home? Or
>the
>need to flee from wherever you are and hug your child when you hear news of
>a fire, a car accident, a child dying?
>
>The emotions of motherho od are universal and so our thoughts are for young
>mothers stumbling through diaper changes and sleep deprivation...
>And mature mothers learning to let go.
>
>For working mothers and stay-at-home mothers.
>
>Single mothers and married mothers.
>
>Mothers with money, mothers without.
>
>This is for you all.
>
>For all of us.
>
>Hang in there.
>
>In the end we can only do the best we can.
>
>Tell them every day that we love them.
>
>And pray.
>
>Please pass along to all the Moms in your life.
>
>"Home is what catches you when you fall - and we all fall."
>
>Please pass this to a wonderful mother you know. (I just did.)