Motherhood matters. The longer I live, the more I comprehend this truth: Motherhood Matters.
With all due respect, I'm convinced that raising
children is the most significant, the most difficult, and the most fulfilling
task in life. It is influence. It is power. It is life.
Motherhood matters in many ways, but one of the most
poignant is the influence mothers have on the world. Forever and ever.
Take last week, for example. Day one, we sent our daughter off to college. After 18 years of living at home, she was ready to stretch her wings. We dropped her off at her dorm room—decorated pink and grey, her new backpack hanging from her closet hook, her new laundry detergent and books and school shoes ready for her new life. It was a tender and thrilling moment. I couldn’t help but recall the day I had arrived at the same university, excited and nervous, hugging my family goodbye, looking ahead to a grand adventure. It seemed like just yesterday.
My daughter’s anticipation was so thrilling that I almost
wished it was me again, setting my sails for the new world. But then it became
clear: I was living life through her. Her experiences would become my
experiences. Her success was my success. Her happiness produced my joy. I could
go to college again and again and again and have all of the excitement and
fulfillment because of and through my children. Motherhood expanded me and who I was. It was an eye opening
revelation.
