So here we go....
I've not been feeling well these last few weeks. Started out with a sore back and then chest congestion, loss of voice and a cough that won't let up. Doc gave me antibiotics, but nothing is working. I called my mom and she asked, "What do you want me to do?" Mind you, my mom is 80 years old and she has ALWAYS mothered me, so I say, "Be my mom." She laughed and suggested a couple things and it felt like a warm hug.
Today is Mother's Day and I didn't get a chance to spend it with my mom because of the way I'm feeling. My voice is almost gone and the cough, well, its still hanging on, its relentless. I called my mom and she could hear that I wasn't any better and this time, instead of asking me what do you want me to do? She mothered me and said, "Go gargle with warm salt water." Funny, I've had others make that same suggestion and I just smiled and nodded, but, when Mommy said it, you can bet'cha I didn't just smile and nod, I got up and did exactly what I was told. I was a sickly kid growing up. Had pneumonia, twice, hospitalized twice. I had bronchitis often and even bronchial asthma growing up and though I didn't have the best relationship with my mother growing up, she was ALWAYS there taking care of me, "mothering" me and loving me back to health.
Mother's Day isn't always an easy day to celebrate for me, not because of my mother, but, because of a couple miscarriages I have suffered in my life. I grieve the loss of unfulfilled hopes and dreams for a child that wasn't able to come forth, but, knowing that my mother is still with me makes Mother's Day a little easier for me. I have been blessed to have many women in my life who have mothered me. Some of them have been my friends and other's mentors, teachers, supervisors and bosses. Women who have shared their knowledge and their strength with me. Today, not only do I celebrate it with my own mother, but with these countless women who have come and gone and even have remained in my life.
To you women who are reading this blog, you, too have inspired me and have enriched my life beyond measure. Whether you have given birth or not, nurtured a child of your own, or of someone else's you have empowered me to stay strong and positive and show compassion and to be compassionate. Today is your day to celebrate and shine!
Remember you have the power and its in them shoes!