my mother gave me the moon.



My mother gave me the moon by Patrick Regan

My mother gave me the moon.
My mother gave me the stars. 
My mother gave me the universe and all its little miracles.
My mother gave me warmth.
My mother gave me security.
And all the while, my mother gave me room to grow/
And the freedom to discover the world for myself. 
My mother gave me the gift of countless sunny afternoons...
Of wheelbarrow races and butterfly chases,
Bubbles of all sizes and sweet surprises. 
My mother gave me childhood, pure and joyful. 
My mother gave me friendship. 
My mother gave me faith. 
She instilled in me a sense of wonder/
And the wisdom to be gentle with all living things. 
My mother gave me dreams/
And the courage to believe in them. 
And she still does. 
My mother made everyday days seem special. 
And made special days nothing short of magical. 
She taught me to hold traditions dear...
And family close. 
And long before anyone else did...
My mother showed me what love really is. 

This morning I sat on the edge of our brown leather couch cradling all three girls. Elle sat peacefully in my right arm, Mya drank her chocolate milk on my lap while watching cartoons and V leaned on my left shoulder twirling my unwashed hair. It was, perhaps, a picture perfect moment. I sat there listening to Elle hmmming and aaawwwing and breathed in all the life around me. I felt whole and complete in that moment. 

Too often when I review my day with Tim I tell him all about the fights I had to break up, the tears I had to wipe, the poop I had to clean off someone's shoe, the times no one wanted to share, and the times I raised my voice even though I really didn't want to and I often forget to describe the good moments that always happen each day. They really do always happen, but unfortunately they are often overshadowed by the negative events of the day. And I don't think that's necessarily bad. It's real, and since I have no one but small children around to talk to all day, it's all I can do not to talk about those things the minute Tim drops his badge on the kitchen counter. I have to release it before it swallows me whole. 

But man, oh man, my girls can be so good to me. They teach me so much about giving. Motherhood is all about giving. And I know that what I'm giving must be good because my girls keep fighting for a place on my lap each morning and they whine for me to put them to bed at night and they beg me to read them one extra book and they plead for me to make up one more silly song about ducks and grandma (you try that one;)) and they ask me to make them one more delicious grilled cheese and they exclaim "Mama, you my best friend" ten times a day. 

So here's to more moms giving their kids the moon. Shouldn't that be an attainable goal? I think so. It is my motherhood mantra. 

My mother gave me the moon.

...and in case you're wondering about my mom, well, she really did give me the moon, the stars and every dream a girl could ever conjure up. Thank you mom. 

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"Be kind and considerate with your criticism... It's just as hard to write a bad book as it is to write a good book." Malcolm Cowley