“Making the decision to have a child is momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body.”
-Elizabeth Stone
“You don’t really understand human nature unless you know why a child on a merry-go-round will wave at his parents every time around – and why his parents will always wave back.”
-William D. Tammeus
“I remember my mother’s prayers and they have always followed me. They have clung to me all my life.”
-Abraham Lincoln
“Mothers hold their children’s hands for a short while, but their hearts forever.”
-Unknown
And for the grandmothers:
When You’re the Mom of a Mother
By Beverly Beckham and Grandparents.com
When my older daughter became a mother nearly six years ago, I became a grandmother with a brand-new baby to love. But I also became a different kind of mother to my baby. I was useful again. I knew things. I understood. And the most important thing I understood was how much my daughter loved her child.
Ten months later, my younger daughter gave birth to her firstborn. “Did you feel this way, Mom? Isn’t it amazing? I never knew. Was I as cute?”
Motherhood, part two. That’s what grandparenting really is. Your kids grow up, go off to school, move away. And they don’t need you anymore. They don’t call for advice. And you think, you’re done. That’s it. The job is finished.
And then your kids become parents and you’re suddenly back in the game. “Mom, can you?” “Dad, will you?”
When a child is placed in a woman’s arms — in a hospital, at an airport, in a lawyer’s office, and whether the child is a newborn or a 10-year-old — a woman’s life changes forever.
And so does the life of her mother.
I watch my daughters wipe noses and hands, buckle car seats, peel grapes, insist upon “please” and “thank you,” wipe up spills, dry tears, read books, blow bubbles, monitor the TV, play games, and work outside their homes. And I am struck by the rigors of mothering — how hard it is and tiring and endless, and how amazing it is that anyone signs up for this job.
And then I think, this was once my job. I did all this. “How did you do it, Mom?” my daughters ask. And they listen to my answer because I’ve been down the road they’re on now and they realize that maybe I know a few things they have yet to learn.
The mother-child connection. It changes. It evolves. It grows.
In the space between us now there is still no space. It is filled with children — theirs, but part mine. And on it goes. Mother to mother to child, this eternal bond that is recognized and honored on Mother’s Day.
Happy Mother’s Day to all moms! Sending special mother’s day wishes to Andrea, Bronwyn, Allison, Erin, Weslie, Rachel, Elizabeth, Alison, Kendra, Lori, Kate, Jen, Jaclyn, Krystal, Meredith, Teresa, Amber, Stephanie, LaToya, Heather, Lara, Michelle, Tiffany, Carrie, Rochelle, Selena, Katie, Susan, Kerin, Jessica, Alicia, and to all the other moms and moms-to-be who have invited us into your experience of motherhood by having us capture you and your gorgeous children in photos. Thanks to all of you!
On Monday dad took mom to the Lange Farm for her maternity session. Though dad is there often for weddings, mom had never been there and said dad was right on when he says not only is it beautiful but everyone there is so nice! Mom has been really busy lately and said it was great to spend the afternoon with dad doing something for the new baby. The time until her due date is going to go by so quickly! Mom had Kristine of Fabulous Faces do her makeup for the session.
