mama, too

Love your Mama.

Mine is amazing. She's the reason I've often been afraid I won't measure up in motherhood, because she set the bar conspicuously high. She's also the reason I have confidence that somewhere in the depths of my being, being a mama just fits. Perhaps - just perhaps - I've learned a thing or two from her.

There is probably no weekend each year that I'd rather be back in Dakota with her. It's not because my dad would make some grand breakfast, or there would be a fancy brunch after church, or that roses and jewelry are handed out en masse. Rather, I'd be sleeping in after a weekend of spring ballet performances and planting flowers with my mom. Simple time spent with a woman I love and admire, and miss terribly. I get more homesick than ever on Mother's Day, because my mom, who teaches, choreographs, and operates the town's top school of dance, has always spent her Mothers' Day weekends devoted to others. For nearly 60 years, she, and her mother before her (my mom follows in legendary footsteps, too) have dedicated this weekend to The Recital. Unfortunately, I can't go back most years, and it's bittersweet to plant my own flowers and hum ballet tunes from 1000 miles away.

While it's hard to journey through motherhood without her here beside me, I've been blessed with other women to love and model life. There's Grandma, (the "original" Mrs. Kenobi), whose generosity toward her boys, their wives, and their boys, teaches me the Kenobi family secrets of love and humor. And, when I'm feeling like I need somebody who understands me like a mom, there are beautiful women like Grandma Vicki, Auntie Barbara, or Miss Beverly, among other gems, walking beside me.

Other mamas are placed in my life as friends, but they often mother me. They help me through the transitions of life with grace I couldn't learn in a ballet studio. They love my children as grandmas, aunts, and angels. They, like a good mother, call me out when I need correction. They, like my mother, know how to enjoy the fine "S's" in life: shopping, sitting, and snacking. They, like mothers I often admire, balance full lives that reflect more than "just" being a mom, and yet they don't, as our culture sometimes does, resist thinking motherhood is a worthy highlight.

As I've said in my little profile, I never set out to be "just a mom." I never wanted to be called "Mommy" or "a mom," but I've have grown to treasure being called "Mama." In a few weeks, I will again introduce myself to a little Obi, and remember what that name means. My family will rely on me in new (and hardly remembered) ways, but we will also rely on the other mothers in our life. They will cook a meal, speak a kind word, hold somebody when there aren't enough hands, and celebrate this transition with us. They will demonstrate that our heavenly Father understands how precious, practical, and necessary mamas are for His children in this world.

I am often accused of "doing" much, juggling the ever-evolving needs of my family and myself. I spend time getting and keeping connected, and try my best to be who I'm purposed to be. I don't always feel worthy of a celebration, but I'm going to enjoy this day anyway. Mamas are special - and if you let them, there are many who will offer their gifts and enrich your life. Whether it's the mother we are given at birth, those who walk ahead of us, those who walk beside us, or the one who may join motherhood in years to come...

... love a Mama today.