Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day:
   This phrase of 3 words is 3 of the most powerful wonderful words that can be said to a Mother. It means I love you, and want to Honor you for being my Mother. It means so much to hear 
whether your spouse says it for them, or your children say it to you, it doesn't matter. It can be a look, a card, a hug, a kiss etc... Even a pet can say it, all it takes is a look to express Love. To a Mother it doesn't mater if you buy it, make it, or just give it. One of my most cherished possessions, are the cards my boys made in grade school for Mother's Day! It means, that you have done your very best to raise your child to be the best person He/ She can be. You have unconditionally (and a Mother's Love is unconditional) loved, and given your best to your child. This is what Mother's do, they will sacrifice everything for their children, and it is the only unconditional LOVE a child will ever get. The love of a Father is a bit different than a Mother's love, (I think it has something to do with the fact that a Mother carries the child inside her body), and I will address that next month for Father's Day, or maybe Mike can write that post and explain it better than I can. Nevertheless it is still unconditional, only a parent's love is unconditional, (love that doesn't have to be earned, no matter how bad you are, or what you do wrong), a parent doesn't quit loving you!

   For a Mother, everyday is Mother's Day because you have a child. You take care of that child, feed, dress, discipline, teach, in essence anything that child needs you provide, and you LOVE! Boy do you Love! Children often don't understand the difference between something they need and something they want. It is our job, sometimes  to the chagrin of the child to decide which it is.  Sometimes they get mad at us, and say things they don't mean, they may say, "I Hate You"!  Those 3 little words are the most dreaded words a parent can hear from their child. (cos, kids instinctively know this hurts you) My answer would always be that's okay I love you enough for both of us. It always defused the situation.  I think every child at some time, or another, has said this to their Mom or Dad. Probably since there has been people in the world, I'm sure these words have been uttered at one time or another. Did I say these words to my Mom, did my boys say these words to me, did you ever say these 3 words to your Mom? You Bet, and I'm ashamed to say I did, and my boys did too.  It's simply the nature of a child to try to get back at someone when they are mad or pouting. That's why this little barb stings so much! We just have to remember that they are a child, trying to get their way, and not take it to heart. The teen years are the worst for hearing the "I hate you" line, and it isn't until those same kids become parents themselves, that they understand what these 3 words do to a parent. Do I wish I could take them back, of course I do, did I ever say I'm Sorry, of course I have. Did my boys say they were sorry for saying them?  Yes, after they had kids and experienced what real unconditional love is, each one of them did. I was so proud of them at that moment! They now knew what I was trying to teach them, all it took was a child of their own. That is just one of the little hurts a Mom locks away in her heart, that love grows over, and heals. Do we forgive our kids, YES, almost instantly,( it's almost like labor pains, you forget the hurt once the baby is here) and you forget the hurt when this happens too, never to remember again.
   Then there is also Mother's protection for her child or children. Believe me when I say ya don't want to get between a Mother and her kids, cos if ya do I promise you, ya won't know what hit you! LOL! Mother's can be vicious when it comes to protecting their kids, ( just as bad as a Momma bear with cubs can be) if someone is threatening her kids.
I am happy that I was able to experience motherhood, and wouldn't have missed it for the world. I am a much better, understanding, more loving, upbeat person for having experienced it. Being a parent is the most worrying, rewarding, scary, amazing, tiring, loving journey you will ever take! It never ends until you do, then I hope to be looking down on them! Just because your kids are grown, doesn't mean you are done being a Mom or Dad. It's a lifetime job, and I wouldn't want it any other way! 


The Payoff  For Motherhood:
    Grand kids! Yippee!  I got to practice being a Grandma before any of my son's even had kids, because my oldest son married a girl that had a little girl, and a little boy. So they became my first Grand Kids, maybe not of my blood, but my Grand Kids just the same! I learned a lot from Brittany and Erin. Brittany is about to make me a Great Grandma in October. That is hard for me to believe, I still remember taking Britt to buy her dress for her first kindergarten Christmas Program. Erin is now in high school, I think he'll be a sophomore or junior next year, and is way taller than me. I remember holding Erin, (when he was 1 1/2 or 2) when he got stitches in his head after a the car accident he was in, that was so scary!
    I was fortunate enough to watch 4 of my Grand Daughters come into this world. Believe me when I say that is indeed the payoff, that, and the first time you hold your Grand Child in your arms! Once you become a Grand Mother, believe me you are right there behind their Mother should someone try to hurt one of them! So the cycle continues, and this time around you don't have to be the disciplinarian, you get to watch your kids deal with it ! You get to sit back and laugh, (and you will) and try to keep your mouth shut until you're asked for advice. Also, you get to spoil them, my Sons are forever telling me, and my Grand Daughters, she wasn't like that when I grew up! She was mean, and would punish us all the time if we were bad. If we didn't clean our rooms we got grounded, or got our favorite things taken away for a while. Haha! The girls just smile, and say Grandma wouldn't do that, I have to say yes I did! I think something happens to you when you first hold that Grand Baby, I don't know what it is but you become a softie, your heart melts again, you learn that some of the arguments that you had with your kids didn't matter so much when it came right down to it. You don't want to tell them no, but for their sake sometimes ya have to, or make a promise that you can't keep.  I tell my kids to pick and choose their battles, and they say, but you didn't with us. I tell them that yes I did, they just didn't see it cos, they were looking at it from a child's point of view! That's my story and I'm sticking to it. Haha!

I wish all of you out there a Happy Mother's Day! I hope that I have many more with my Mother! I didn't get to spend it with her today, but I will see her soon! My youngest Brother is at her house today. I want to dedicate this post to my Mom, she taught me everything I needed to know about being a Mom, and I couldn't have had a better teacher! I Love You Mom! So until tomorrow, see ya's...