Southwick: Our Forever Family: Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day! I know there are many women who don't necessarily look forward to this holiday because of all the emotions that come with it (e.g., pain of childlessness, pain of loss, regret, feelings of insecurity and inadequacies, etc.) I used to be one of them. Even after I married Jeff, I still didn't feel I could celebrate the holiday because I wasn't a "mother" in a traditional sense. How dumb that was!! With age usually comes wisdom, I would like to think that's what I'm experiencing. I now realize that motherhood isn't a biological privilege - it is a divine characteristic that each woman possess regardless of her ability or opportunity to have children. To be a mother requires so much more than 9 months gestation and hours of labor and delivery. Motherhood is work! It is all-consuming. It is sacrificing self for others. It is sleepless nights and endless days. It is kissing "owies" and wiping away tears. It's weathering the literal and figurative storms to support the children in your life. It is laughter. It is tears....none of which requires a DNA donation to a child. Every woman who has ever loved a child has been a mother. I will admit that since I've had Jonas, it has been easier to feel like a "mother" in every sense of the word; however, since having Jonas, I have also realized how much I discounted my maternal divinity. I fully expected to feel some astronomical difference once I had my own flesh-and-blood child, but I didn't...and I don't. Sure there are differences in my love for Jonas and my love for the other 4 children I get to raise, but there are differences in my love for Dallin and my love for Daniel or my love for Amber and my love for Laurin. Just because there are differences in my love doesn't mean that I don't love fully. All this love comes from one Mama's heart...even if that Mama's heart is pumping different blood through her veins than the blood her children are pumping. I simply wish every woman could celebrate this day. I wish I could impart my new found wisdom with the world, but everyone is on their own journey. I just want to wish every woman a Happy Mother's Day. You are loved...even in all your imperfections and failings. You are needed...even if the children you serve don't live under your roof. You are valued...simply because you are a woman!

I did have a Happy Mother's Day. I felt very loved and very spoiled. There wasn't anything particularly spectacular about the day (other than the fact that I didn't have to cook or clean up!). Instead, it was just the small thoughtful gifts and the kind acts that made the day special. The boys made me breakfast before church. After church, we all just enjoyed a relaxing day. Before they made me dinner, they presented me with several thoughtful, humorous gifts. From the girls, I received a bracelet with all the kids fingerprints. Laurin said it was to remind me of all the ways I've touched their lives. Jacob gave me a heartfelt card to thank me for my kindness and friendships. The boys then presented me with 3 separate gifts: Dr. Pepper for all the time they fight, lemon Oreos for when the house just won't stay clean, and Ben and Jerry's ice cream for when Jeff decides to buy another new toy. Jeff then gave me a handmade card with chocolates that had letters written on them. I unscrambled the letters to read "Let's get away". For Mother's Day, he wants us to plan a little weekend get away! That's always the best gift! A weekend away with my best friend. It was a great day! I know there are days that I feel unappreciated and undervalued, but not today. I know I am loved. I know I am appreciated...and today I could really feel that. Thank you!