Pictured here are my two precious babies! I am so proud of them and of myself for being able to capture the two of them together.
I wanted to share with you all my Mother’s Day story. I wrote this shortly after having our son and hope that you can enjoy this as much as I enjoyed writing it! I wish all of you a wonderful & joyful Mother’s Day!
Blessings,
Amy
Happy Mother’s Day
By Amy Allen Clark
Isn’t it great that one day out of the year our role as mothers is being celebrated? I look around at all of the advertisements and displays offering special Mother’s Day cards, books, and of course the traditional heart locket and shake my head. It is amazing how a day to celebrate our motherhood has now been turned into a commercial venture instead of a true celebration.
So instead of sending all of my dear friends a card in the mail on this one special day, I salute mothers around the world for all that you do each and every day.
I salute those of you who are bone-tired from being up every night with a sleepless baby and yet still manage to have a smile on your face because you are filled with pride for your new child. I salute the mother who is bone-tired because she stayed up all night not with her child, but instead stayed up trying to get her chores done around the house because she was too busy playing with her child to notice. And I am honored to share the company with the mother who has been up all night with her child who is not wearing a smile on her face and wants to share her night of hell with me over a cup of coffee.
I recognize the mothers who go to work each and every day to help provide for their family as their hearts quietly break when they think of the time they cannot spend with their child. I salute the mother who gave up her career just to know that they will be the ultimate giver of care twenty-four hours a day while their heart silently breaks with longing for the career that they wish they had. And I salute the woman who is happy with her role and doesn’t look back, but straight ahead at the face of their child.
I stand amazed at the mothers with seemingly superhuman powers, conquering their bills, the family laundry, and dinner, all while balancing their beautiful babies on their hip. I bow to the woman who opens her home and heart to her family and friends even when the bill aren’t done, the family laundry is laying in a mountain on their floor, and they have chosen to eat take-out all while balancing their beautiful babies on their hip. And I acknowledge with grace the woman who decides she just can’t do it all and hires someone to help her so that she can get all of these things done while balancing beautiful babies on her hip.
I feel my heart swelling with pride when I see a woman walking in a store with six children in tow, never understanding how they have done it financially or emotionally. My heart fills with joy at the site of a mother with just one child holding hands with complete looks of contentment on each of their faces. And I rejoice when women achieve their much deserved pregnancies after going through numerous miscarriages and complications.
As I shout all of your praises, I look back upon my life before the birth of my child and realize how little I knew. You see, when I became a mother, I understood that I would have to make sacrifices for my child. I knew that I would love them unconditionally and that I would do anything for them…and yet I did not know. I remember as my mother touched my pregnant belly she had said, “You will finally understand how much I loved you,” and I had nodded my head…I did not know. I nodded my head, but I could not feel yet the power of motherhood.
I feel the power now as I am holding my son in my arms filled with a love that only a mother knows. And I know that someday when my son has his own child I will look to him and say, “Now you will know how much I loved you,” and see him nod too, but never really understand until he becomes a parent.
So in honor of each and every mother I praise you- not through a card or through gifts, but through this little crayon drawing that I am sketching for you that simply says, “I love you, mom!”
I raise my glass to mothers everywhere in honor of your motherhood, not on just this commercialized day, but every single day- cheers to us!
****This writing may not be used without the author’s permission****