Acknowledgement.
Let me back this up for you. Take a minute. Think of a mother you know. Any mother. Whether it is your mother, wife, grandmother, girlfriend, friend, sister, cousin, niece, daughter, or (for whatever reason you are not with her) your child’s mother. Now the next time you are around this woman, look at her. Put your phone down, put the controller down, turn the TV off. Actually LOOK at this mother. What is she doing? Maybe she is cooking dinner, or picking up toys. Giving the kids a bath, or getting herself ready. Getting some work done, or sitting on the couch next to you. Look at her. Do you see what she is doing? Now think about why she is doing what she is doing and what led to her deciding to do this.
She is cooking dinner (possibly even a couple different dinners for any picky eaters in the family) for her family, making sure they are fed, probably even losing a battle of trying to get the kids to eat veggies. Now watch as she eats her dinner last, when it’s already gotten cold. Watch how she gives away what’s on her plate because the kids or the dog wants it. She puts her own physical need for food behind because making sure everyone else is taken care of first is her priority.
Look at this working woman. She is working a job outside of the home (whether it is full-time or part-time) for whatever reason. She excels at her job, all while making sure she is still a constant, positive, and present part of her children’s lives. She tirelessly works around the clock to provide the best life she can for her children.
Is she picking up toys or giving the kids a bath? Notice how she has stains on her clothes and her hair has been pulled up off her face. Notice how she does not hesitate to pick up something disgusting that has spilled on the floor. Or how the kids will drench her with water while splashing in the tub. Now think about how many times you have seen her do this same activity in the last week, month, year. These everyday tasks that she performs over and over again. She is exhausted and a mess, overwhelmed and frazzled. And not only does she do these things before she sits down and relaxes for herself. But she does these things with a smile on her face. Because she knows that these everyday tasks are the moments that become memories in her eyes and in the eyes of her children.
The moment a woman becomes a mom, it becomes instinctual that she is no longer living her life for herself. She is in charge of not only keeping a tiny human alive, but teaching that tiny human how to survive and thrive in this crazy world. This reflex of putting these tiny humans ahead of ourselves, is often overlooked and underappreciated by people who are not mothers. So do the mothers in your life a favor, and ACKNOWLEDGE what she does. Thank her and show genuine appreciation for how strong, resilient, generous, loving, thoughtful, nonstop, and incredible she is.
