Mother is Also a Verb

Today in church, Rev. James shared a touching litany of motherhood. It was based on a 2012 blog posting where the author attempted to 'acknowledge the wide continuum of mothering', and a lot of us found it profoundly moving, especially when done as a responsive reading.

To those who gave birth this year to their first child—we celebrate with you

To those who lost a child this year – we mourn with you

To those who are in the trenches with little ones every day and wear the badge of food stains – we appreciate you

To those who experienced loss through miscarriage, failed adoptions, or running away—we mourn with you

To those who walk the hard path of infertility, fraught with pokes, prods, tears, and disappointment – we walk with you. Forgive us when we say foolish things. We don’t mean to make this harder than it is.

To those who are foster moms, mentor moms, and spiritual moms – we need you

To those who have warm and close relationships with your children – we celebrate with you

To those who have disappointment, heart ache, and distance with your children – we sit with you

To those who lost their mothers this year – we grieve with you

To those who experienced abuse at the hands of your own mother – we acknowledge your experience

To those who lived through driving tests, medical tests, and the overall testing of motherhood – we are better for having you in our midst

To those who have aborted children – we remember them and you on this day

To those who are single and long to be married and mothering your own children – we mourn that life has not turned out the way you longed for it to be

To those who step-parent – we walk with you on these complex paths

To those who envisioned lavishing love on grandchildren -yet that dream is not to be, we grieve with you

To those who will have emptier nests in the upcoming year – we grieve and rejoice with you

To those who placed children up for adoption — we commend you for your selflessness and remember how you hold that child in your heart

And to those who are pregnant with new life, both expected and surprising –we anticipate with you

This Mother’s Day, we walk with you. Mothering is not for the faint of heart and we have real warriors in our midst. We remember you

Our relationships with both our own mothers and the mothers of our children can sometimes be complex, as anyone familiar with Pink Floyd can tell you, but I greatly appreciated the post's author, Amy, reminding us of this maternal spectrum.

Today I was grateful for the opportunity to share brunch with my immediate family as well as my sister and mother. A round of mimosas is a small thanks for all these women do, but on a patio with the sun shining and a chance for our daughters to see how it's done, it still felt gratifying.

Happy Mother's Day to all those who mother us!

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