The Honor of Motherhood

My mom is amazing.
As I do this journey called motherhood, I truly hope to be at least mostly as great as she is. What a convoluted sentence that was! But you know what I mean.
For a long time, my husband and I weren't even sure we'd get to take this parenthood journey. It took us 6 1/2 years to be able to get pregnant due to PCOS and other issues (like loss of jobs and moving and debt). Those were the years where Mother's day was one of the hardest of the year. Even though I could still celebrate my awesome Mom, I couldn't celebrate my own motherhood I was longing for with all my being.

Every year as Mother's day rolls around, I think back on those years. It's been six years ago now that I was pregnant for the first time. And my husband helped me celebrate that year for the first time, despite not yet having our daughter in our arms. He bought me a beautiful frame that said "Love at first sight" and put her ultrasound picture in it. Perfect.
Having that experience of almost not having motherhood has made me cherish it a bit more. Don't get me wrong. I still have days when I'd like to ship my children off to their grandparents for a few weeks. But then I remember how much I wanted them in the first place. And how blessed I am that God let it happen. And how some people are still on that journey or have realized that it's not a possibility for them.
I have friends who have adopted. Who make great church parents or aunts even though they can't have their own. I have friends who were parents at one time and have lost their children. Everyone is in a different place. And everyone has a place to act like a parent, whether it's too your own children or someone else's. I hope you cherish that this year.
Prayers for all those longing. And thanks for all those who help me parent my two blessings, too. Happy Mother's day!

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Below, you can see my mother's day gift from last year (the roses) and this year (the daisies). My family knows me well.