When I was a little girl I can remember thinking I could never love anyone as much as I love my mom. She was the one person I felt completely secure with. I could hold back tears through an entire school day, but when I saw my mom, the dam would break and the tears would flood my face. I didn’t want anyone else to doctor my scrapes and bruises, tuck me in at night, or listen to every detail of my day. She was the most beautiful woman in the world and she knew everything. If she said, I believed it.
When I became a preteen something weird happened. Everything she said made me lose control of my eyes and they would just roll on their own. I didn’t even know it was happening. She would yell at me to stop rolling my eyes and I would yell back that I wasn’t. My feet became heavier and would stomp instead of walk. My bedroom door developed resistance and needed to be slammed. I slipped into a crazy world where something was playing tennis with my emotions. My thoughts were highjacked and before I knew it, my mom was the enemy! I didn’t want her tucking me in, doctoring my knees, or asking me annoying questions when I tried to tell her about the drama at school. I knew what I was talking about and she didn’t know a darn thing!
The teen years. I had surpassed my mom in intelligence and coolness. She couldn’t understand the trends or the lingo and if she tried to use slang, I was horrified…especially if she did it in front of my friends. I didn’t want her in my business and she disapproved of all my music, clothing, and boy choices. What was wrong with her?! All I wanted was total privacy and a few bucks to go hang out with my friends. Was that too much to ask?
I can’t remember who put me on that crazy train that turned my relationship with my mom upside down. But it finally lost momentum and I was able to jump off as I transitioned into adulthood. Come to find out, Mom was still the same beautiful person she was in the very beginning. My years of temporary insanity changed her a little, but she never gave up or stopped loving her immature and ignorant kid. Thank goodness those years are just a season and life eventually ushers us into adulthood and a whole new relationship with Mom where she becomes the heroine once again.
Most of us can say that we can’t thank our moms enough. Let all of her efforts, time, and prayers for you sink in. When you visit or call her this Mother’s Day, say or do a little extra to let her know how much you appreciate the years of steadfastness and love.
And to all moms out there, you’re incredible! Motherhood is such a gift…a gift that can test your patience, limits, and health! You are doing something only you can do. That applies to adoptive moms as much as birth moms! Your love is endless and your strength is matchless!