Defining Mother

“I didn’t have a mommy growing up. I mean, I did, I wasn’t hatched or anything. It’s just my mom wasn’t present, wasn’t protective. Like many of us, she was broken.
Her brokenness brought me a ton of pain.”

Later, when I became a mother, I was worried. I didn’t know how to do this parent-thing.

I didn’t have an example.

In a phone call, my older brother told me:

I was the strongest person he ever knew
(still one of the best compliments I’ve been given to this day)
and that I was an incredible mom – and I had the best training
as a kid because I knew all the things NOT to do.

This stayed with me.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The definition of mother is broad.

To me, most every women I know mothers on some level.

We mother neighbors and colleagues and bosses and friends and jobs and each other.

We nurture, this is our nature.

We alleviate suffering and shield hurt and influence kindness.

Women, regardless whether they have birthed a human;
have indeed birthed dreams, ideas, imagination, and love.
We are amazing.

And though I didn’t have a mother-guide as a child,
I’ve been blessed to be surrounded with women
who have stepped into that role in my grown-up years.

Women who “adopted” me into their hearts
and picked up the phone when I was terrified
and calmed my fears and reminded me that I was good.

Here’s to all the women-mommy-warriors.

I am humbled. I am blessed.

Please read the following in an announcement-like voice at the end of a commercial –

NOTE TO MEN: This post is not meant to discredit men on any level.
I’ll expound on you guys on Father’s Day. Wait your turn,okay?

4GGL Thanks Rebecca Evans for her writing!

“Simply sharing stories that matter.” – Rebecca Evans

REBECCA EVANS served eight years in the United States Air Force, and is a decorated Gulf War veteran. She hosts the Our Voice television show, advocating personal stories, and mentors teens in the juvenile system. She held the title of Mrs. Idaho International and earned a B.A. in Creative Writing from Boise State University, minoring in Psychology, and was also honored with the BSU “Women Making History in Idaho” award.

Her work has made the short list of semi-finalist for American Short Fiction’s Short Story Contest, has appeared in Gravel Literary magazine, Scribes Weekly Anthology, and forthcoming Fiction Southeast and War, Literature & the Arts, among others. She’s currently pursuing an MFA in Creative Nonfiction Writing at Sierra Nevada College and serves on the editorial staff of the Sierra Nevada Review. She lives in Idaho with her three sons.

main image, source: The Rise of the Cosmic Goddess w/ Heather Allison

giving birth to ideas by nicafemme

other images: Jennifer Blue, Collages by Google