yo, mama!

There was a time not so long ago that the only woman I thought of on this day was my very own mom.  Without a doubt, she is most definitely the first woman that comes to mind on this day. And it’s one of those days within the year where the distance to Cape Breton Island seems a world apart.

But over the last number of years, there are so many incredible women in my life that are amazing mommies.  And I’m lucky enough to share in their joys, sorrows, tears and happiness in all that it takes to be a mama.  I can honestly say, with conviction, I never tire of their stories and I’m the one always pressuring them to send new pics of the kids.  So, while I don’t have children of my own, I do feel blessed to know things like: gripe water is liquid sanity; you sleep when they sleep; toilet training begins around two but it can take much longer than that and accidents are OK; it’s fine if they don’t walk by the age of one; no one experiences judgment from others like a mother does.  What I don’t know is: what it feels like to dedicate 9+ months of your body to nurture and grow a small human being; what it feels like to wake up numerous times throughout the night to feed a wee mouth and see a tiny smile in a moonlit room; to get more excited about having a date that includes a movie in a theatre with popcorn than having sex with your guy (wait, I do think I remember what that feels like); to miss your husband even though he's in the same room with you; to feel sick with worry wondering about the little person you created; praying that they become good people or hoping that no one ever, ever breaks their heart or lets them down.  

So mom, for all those years I was too young, too stubborn and too selfish to not recognize you for the things I didn't know about motherhood, I want to say thank you.  Thank you for never, ever giving up on me.  Thank you for being so proud of me, then and today.  Thank you for telling me I have often accomplished a life (and walked a path) you may never have chosen for yourself but that it is still a life worth bragging about to your friends. More importantly, thank you for showing me in these last few years that women do get better with age, that you can find strength within when you lose your most prized feminine possession, that you can maintain a healthy and active lifestyle in your sixties and that you can find love worth working on every day of your life...within yourself.

And to Samantha, Rod, Danica, Cams, Avery, Jack, Lola, Ethan, Brodie, Nolan, Mara, Riley, Matty, Ariss, Bruno, Pete, Charlie, Marc, Andrew, and Liam – make sure you let your mom know that your heart aches for her as much as her heart aches for you.


Happy Mother’s Day, Mom...the book is in the mail.