Mothers and Being Awesome

     I have a great mom - the best. We used to joke that she had it so easy, being able to couch out at home, watching TV and eating potato chips (very much a joke - we didn't have cable, or, usually, potato chips) while we slaved away at school all day (another joke - who ever slaved away in grade school?) Our mom worked extremely hard to create a nurturing environment for us and provide a good example in every way and I can't thank her enough. Riley, huge blessing that she is, has caused me to reflect even more on the sacrifices Mom made out of love for us. Its lucky I have such an example as a mom, because I depend on the answer to "What would Mom do?" a lot.

Mom, Riley, and I, just home from the hospital.

     When we flew home from TX in April we found ourselves with time to kill at the Dallas airport and so stopped at a Wendy's for a snack. Rather than the usual, "What can we get you," the lady behind the counter said to me, "Girl, you are so young, what are you doing?" My prepared response, "fries and a frosty," was on its way out before I realized what she had said, making my actual response, "fr...wha??"
   Clerk: "Honey, how far along are you?"
   Me: "26-weeks-fries-and-frosty-please."
Geez! But her question, her first one, is not new to me. In fact, I've asked myself variations of it from time to time. "What am I doing/ What have I gotten myself into/ How on earth will our kids survive me?" Jeffrey R. Holland, bless him, captured the struggle pretty well (If only I could have channeled Elder Holland to the Wendy's lady! I met him once, you know. I was working behind a restaurant counter myself.)

"The work of a mother is hard, too often unheralded work... With night feedings and night teethings, often the greatest challenge of all for a young mother is simply fatigue. Through these years, mothers go longer on less sleep and give more to others with less personal renewal for themselves than any other group I know at any other time in life. It is not surprising when the shadows under their eyes sometimes vaguely resemble the state of Rhode Island...it is clear that some of those Rhode Island–sized shadows come not just from diapers and carpooling but from at least a few sleepless nights spent searching the soul, seeking earnestly for the capacity to raise these children to be what God wants them to be. Moved by that kind of devotion and determination, may I say to mothers collectively, in the name of the Lord, you are magnificent. You are doing terrifically well.  [God] knows that your giving birth to a child does not immediately propel you into the circle of the omniscient. If you and your husband will strive to love God and live the gospel yourselves; if you will plead for that guidance and comfort of the Holy Spirit promised to the faithful; if you will go to the temple to both make and claim the promises of the most sacred covenants a woman or man can make in this world; if you will show others, including your children, the same caring, compassionate, forgiving heart you want heaven to show you; if you try your best to be the best parent you can be, you will have done all that a human being can do and all that God expects you to do."

~"Because She Is a Mother" or the short version video: Motherhood, and Eternal Partnership with God.

So trying my best will be enough? And God is going to help me along the way? Well okie dokie - I can do that. And maybe someday my kids will think of me like I think of my mom: like she is a rock star. To her and the other mothering individuals (teachers, friends, church leaders, to name a few) who helped me figure out who I am and who I want to become: Thank you and Happy Mothers Day! Bless you for your kindness! Hope you feel celebrated on your day and maybe enjoy some breakfast in bed. Or at least some potato chips on the couch.