Okay, I’m going to say it but I don’t want any of my fellow macho types typecasting me as a pussy cat.
Of all the stations in life, few of these come close to motherhood. Sure, fatherhood is in the vicinity, but, in my mind, that status is a touch below the status of being a mother.
Being a male limits my ability to fully grasp what it means to be a mother. So it is with my fellows that we can hardly reckon the scope and depth of motherhood.
For one thing the future mother’s pregnancy started the love relationship between mother and child somewhat before the father began to build their father and child relationship. Most men can’t imagine what it must be like to be a woman with child. Oh, men might sympathize with the morning sickness and other womanly issues associated with having a baby. However, there is a deep chasm of differences between the realities associated with her feeling pregnant and his feelings of sympathy.
After almost a year of gestation, the multiple roles of being a mother are just the beginning of the tasks and joys associated with motherhood. In many cases the father can be a big help but the onus of caring for an infant is most frequently borne by the mother. Fathers are more or less helpers and especially so in the early stages of parenting. Just the thought of changing a dirtied diaper is enough to make many men feel bilious.
To be certain, most of us have a great deal of love, respect and admiration for our mothers. We are often forgetful that whatever we have become, our mothers built the foundation. I frequently think of my mother who bore and raised ten children. And I recall that my father was a great helper. Way back when I was young, it wasn’t particularly unusual to have large families. As you might imagine she was a busy mom and loved every one of her offspring with a heart as big as the sky and hugs as warm as a downy comforter.
And so, if your mother is still on this earth, make certain that you frequently treat her with the greatest love and respect you can muster. Pick up the phone and just chat with her about topics that she treasures and recognize that you are one of her greatest treasures.
If your mother has passed on then take the time to recall and enjoy the treasure trove of beautiful memories she shared with you, her treasured child.
Rudyard Kipling gave us pause about the crucial nature of motherhood when he declared, “God could not be everywhere, and therefore he made mothers.”
