Thoughts on Motherhood

by Dotti

Motherhood: All love begins and ends there.

                                                             ~ Robert Browning

With Mother’s Day approaching and a recent visit to my mother, some 700 miles distant, thoughts of motherhood fill my heart and mind. That being the case, I thought I’d write a nice, sweet yet profound post about motherhood and grandmotherhood and gratitude. But something happened between the idea stage and research stage. 

I was sure I would find some very meaningful quotes by some very eminent philosophers and writers. I found a few, the above being one of them. Really, that quote says it all but I can’t end this post here, so I’ll babble a while longer.

I remember my mother’s prayers and they have always followed me. They have clung to me all my life.

                                                                                                    ~ Abraham Lincoln

This is true of my own life. In our family, daily family devotions after supper were the norm. When she sent me off to college, my mother made sure she knew I was praying for her. Likewise when I married and even today, she never closes an email without assuring me of her prayers. And I know it to be true, because when we visit her, we have family devotions after supper and she prays for every family member.  By name.  That’s a lot of names.

At this point, the philosophers and writers grew a bit overbearing and pretty soon, I was into a batch of quotes about “mom” by celebrities, past and present. Sad to say, many of these hit closer to home, so I’m going to share just a few. After all, who says we have to be totally somber and reverent as we think about motherhood and Mother’s Day?

Sweater, n.: garment worn by child when its mother is feeling chilly.

                                                                                                 ~ Ambrose Bierce

Yes, I hear you all chuckling out there in FOL Land. It’s true. We get chilly and we put a sweater on our child, or in my case, my grandchild. Within minutes, it’s off her body and on the floor or ground. I should have learned by now that this child is so warm natured, she is almost impervious to cold. You’d think by the time we become grandmothers, we’d understand this fact of life. But, no. We keep right on plugging those sweaters.

Why do grandparents and grandchildren get along so well? The mother.

                                                                                                    ~ Claudette Colbert

Somehow, one doesn’t think of Claudette Colbert as a grandmother but she must have been because she speaks wisely about being a grandparent. I loved being a parent, I loved watching my daughter grow up. But, oh, friends! I have to tell you. Being a grandparent is one of life’s greatest joys! I am so much more attuned to each stage of my granddaughter’s life. Now, I’m fortunate that I see her almost every day. But each step of the way, I observe and feel things I missed when my own daughter was growing up. I was so wrapped up in being a mom, I sometimes forgot to savor. With my granddaughter, I can not only savor but inhale deeply and etch the moments into my memory. The only problem? I can’t slow down the clock, it’s all happening too quickly.

Once you’re a mom, always a mom. It’s like riding a bike, you never forget.

                                                                                                   ~ Taraji P. Henson

Isn’t this the truth? Once we become a mom, we’re always a mom. I can remember thinking, when my daughter is {in the next stage of childhood}, it will be easier. The biggest falsehood about motherhood? When my child is an adult, I can relax. Ha! Really? The problems just got bigger and your mom-worry just grew in proportion to those bigger problems. So, yes, it’s true. Once a mom, always a mom.

Isn’t it grand?

Happy Mother’s Day!

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