“When your mother asks, ‘Do you want a piece of advice?’ it’s a mere formality. It doesn’t matter if you answer yes or no. You’re going to get it anyway.” ~ Erma Bombeck
Motherhood. It’s a job. It’s an experience. It’s filled with good days. It’s filled with not-so-good days. It’s filled with grief, joy, worry, laughter, doubt, and confidence. So many emotions are jam-packed together in the person called “mother”.
Motherhood goes through a few different stages as well:
Adored – the mother is simply adored by her child. You can see the look in the eyes of an infant. When mom comes into view, the baby’s eyes widen and a smile is plastered on the child’s face. There is nothing quite so reflective of adoration as the look on a baby’s face for its mother.
Loathed – The adoration phase doesn’t last too long. It is replaced by the loathing phase. The toddler doesn’t like to hear “no” and will rebel. The preteen will rebel at his or her mother’s instructions and the look given to mom will be more loathing than anything else.
Ignored – Teen and later teens master this phase of motherhood. Mom is practically ignored out of existence. If the mother is around when friends are present, she will be ignored by her child. If the mother has any words of wisdom or advice to offer, it goes in one ear and out the other.
Friend – If the child and mother survive the earlier phases of motherhood, there generally comes a time when they become friends. Yes, she is the mom. Yes, he or she is the child. But when they are together, there is a strong bond of friendship that takes place. The child will tell the friend-mother things that would never have been told to the loathed or ignored mother.
If this is the case, some might say, who would opt for the job of mother? Well, quite simply, our moms not only opted for the job but they planned for it and looked forward to it. They somehow innately knew that the struggles and trials associated would be worth it when their children grew up and became adults. They looked forward to seeing their children become parents and watch the cycle of life continue anew.
And if the relationship between mother and child was rockier than hoped for, they could always look forward to the “special blessing” that a parent would wish upon a certain kind of child: “I hope you have children that were just like you.” Happy Mother’s Day, Moms. Thanks for hanging in there with us!
FAITH ACTION: Pray for all mothers, especially for those who feel discouraged.