Celebrating the Joys and Pains of Motherhood

Today is Mother's Day.

I celebrate the life of the first person who ever loved me, my mom. I know I haven't been the perfect daughter, far from it, in fact. But she has never stopped loving me, and worrying about me.

I celebrate the life of my son, my first born, the one I delivered fifteen years ago when life was a lot easier and simpler, when I was still immature and naive. I celebrate every kiss, every hug, each childhood antic,  all those book pages he tore and toys he destroyed when he was a tot.  I celebrate the songs he sang when he was a child, the times he danced.  I celebrate the violin pieces he plays, the original songs he makes, the stories  he writes.  I celebrate everything that he is and everything he can still be.  I celebrate the love I have for him, his love for me, and all the years we still have ahead of us, the memories we have yet to make.

I celebrate the lives of the babies I lost early in my womb. I have never seen them, never felt them move inside me but they gave me and my husband joy and they will always be my babies.

I celebrate the life of my baby Sofie, my dream, God's perfect gift, the baby I gave birth to at twenty three weeks gestation, who struggled to stay with me for another hour and twenty eight minutes. I celebrate the joy she gave me and her dad. I celebrate each little movement she made inside me. I celebrate the sound of her heartbeat and her tiny body, every part of it.  I celebrate the hopes and dreams we had for her future.  I celebrate all those hours, days and nights I spent begging God to allow us to keep her.  I celebrate every drop of tear Ruel and I shed for her.  I celebrate her memory, every second I spend thinking about her, missing her, loving her.

I celebrate the life of the normal and healthy baby girl that I'm waiting for our Creator to give me and Ruel. I celebrate the wonderful years she will share with me, her dad and her brother, Toots. I celebrate the memories we will all make together as a family.

I celebrate the joys and the pains of motherhood.

Happy Mother's Day to all mothers. May God bless us and our children.