On The Beauty of Being (S)mothered

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I always and forever know my mom is my truly best friend.

When I grow into a beautiful and wonderful adult I thank My Mom and My Dad to be supportive to me along the way.

My Mom is my forever and always my most special best person in my life. She believe and support me always no matter what. When I perform Piano and my mom be scared I say No Mom It’s Okay.

My Mom is there when I need help to make grocery lists and dinner options too. And she help me to learning my manners and responsibilities at home too. And taught me to clean my bathroom and use the stove and use the oven too. I also make meals for myself. My mom help to show me to use the vacuum too. And I organize and keep things tidy also. Sometimes it hard for me to know what to do on my own but My Mom and My Dad help me. My Mom also teach me my passion that I love and that is to play the Piano and to play and to perform for everyone to hear.

We will go through hard times but that’s okay because we are family forever and always together.

And My Mom always be my most special person in my life in my heart forever.

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On this day, neither Leah nor I can claim to know the first thing about being a mother. I, in my mere 27 years of youth, have yet to experience the fulfilling, frightening, and forever experience of bringing a human into this Earth. For Leah, this is one of those hard truths that will just not be a piece of her story.

We can, however, claim with endless gratitude, to know the graceful, selfless beauty of being mothered. More accurately, being (s)mothered.

Now, I promise you, this is a positive thing. And from what I’ve gathered from observing the incredible moments of motherhood that surround me daily from across the world, this concept is a two-way street.

This brings us to today, the important holiday, Mother’s Day. Mother’s Day, where we say thank you mom. Today, America expresses our indebtedness to our moms over sappy (but amazing–can we please never stop this?) posts on social media, bouquets of flowers, and family brunch. So what does this all mean?

It means, holy crap, thank you mom.

Thank you. For being (s)mothered in our dirty diapers. In our tears. Thank you, for being (s)mothered in our boogers when we had that cold for two weeks. For literally hand-searching through my feces for over an entire month when I was 8 for that marble that I swallowed in the car when we went over that speed bump in the Lebaron (so embarrassing, but absolutely true). For (s)mothering ALL of your very limited free time…because we needed you to drive us to the mall, or soccer practice, or to the park RIGHT THEN…when all you needed was 10 minutes to take a shower.

Thank you, for (s)mothering us when you were concerned when we didn’t respond to your text within the hour. For that message when you told us to stop texting and driving. When you (s)mothered those monsters underneath our beds. Thank you, for (s)mothering our Facebook pages with more comments than we typically receive in a month with the most positive and supportive few sentences we desperately needed to hear, whether we wanted to admit it or not.

Today, and every day, I admire so much about what it takes to be a mother. In return, mom…I promise never to stop smothering you in the best and most heartfelt hugs. In sappy Facebook posts on Mother’s Day. In my tears. It is my hope that there aren’t any more booger smothers, but of that, I cannot guarantee. And I can ensure you, we will never stop smothering you in how much our family continues to rely on you, regardless of the years that pass.

This two-way street is one that I am so thankful to have as a part of my journey. And every day, but especially today, I hope that you know, Mom, that you are at the heart of it all. I know that it has not been easy to raise a child who has Down syndrome since you were 20 years old. I can only imagine how smothered your time has been over the past 33 years. This is not to say the years weren’t rewarding and important, but they also weren’t a walk in the park. I think the important thing to acknowledge here is the beauty in the (s)mother. Your strength, love, and belief in the abilities of all individuals, regardless of circumstances that may assume otherwise, through the way that you have raised your children, continues to make this world a more positive place. And in this life, that’s what matters.

Happy Mother’s Day Mom.