Motherhood is...

I was flipping through a few of my favorite blogs today, and came across this post.  I decided that putting my thoughts about motherhood on paper would be a good exercise.  It would be good for me, and so I sat down and started writing.  I opened my heart and I let the words flow, and when I was through I decided that I needed to share it with my kids because they made motherhood happen for me.  So this post is for them.  This is my essay.

Motherhood is... 

Long summer days with a little hand wrapped in mine.  Sticky kisses on my face, and 

jam in my hair.  It is little toes in my side during the night when bad dreams have quietly 

snuck into the room.  It is “I love youʼs” whispered in my ear that silently fall right into my 

heart.  It is bare feet slapping in the grass running through the sprinkler as part of a 

giggling train.  It is being a hero and making everything better because thatʼs what 

moms do.  It is staying up late at night to rock someone back to sleep and knowing that 

I am holding the greatest treasure in the world in my arms.  It is tears stinging my eyes 

when I see my children accomplish something they have worked so hard at, and it is 

wrapping them in my arms and providing a soft place to fall when things donʼt go their 

way.  It is band-aids on scraped knees, and kisses to make it all better.  It is loving my 

children so hard and so strong that it almost hurts.  It is running my fingers through their 

hair with their head in my lap, and itʼs believing in who they are with every part of my 

soul.  It is jumping in puddles on rainy days, and happily washing the aftermath.  It is a 

home cooked meal after a long day at school, and a special dessert to top off the day.  It 

is cheerleading, coaching, and counseling all wrapped up in one big positive package, 

and itʼs beautifully tied together with a smile and a warm hug.  It is a teacher, an 

advocate, and an example who loves fiercely without end.  It is hard working hands that 

are gentle, and itʼs a lap to curl up in to find safety from the world.  

It is a phone call for advice, and it is a well worn recipe. It is warm toes by the fire, and 

hot cocoa in a special cup.  Itʼs a warm bath with bubbles, and itʼs flannel sheets on the 

bed.  It is knowing what I know, and learning what I donʼt.  It is patience, and it is 

believing in hopes and dreams that are not my own.  It is patches in the knees of pants, 

and it is homemade quilts sewn with love.  It is the scent of kindness, and the wrinkles 

of memory making.  It is lilacs in the spring, and laundry hanging on the line.  It is every 

flower that the earth anchors in the soil, and it is home grown tomatoes sliced up on a 

plate.  It is mason jars and homemade dill pickles, and itʼs banana cream pie.  

It is a gift.  It is a partnership with God, and a divine role to be cherished.  It is a 

heavenly purpose, and an eternal duty.  It is a privilege, it is happiness, and above all it 

is beauty.