Here’s One For The Mothers

Mothers,

I just want to express my awe towards you.
I don’t know how you do
The things you do.
How you take care of you
And this little human,
This little being
That you brought into being.
How do you continue being
A productive member of society?
Because if it were me?
(And hopefully, one day, it will be)
I would assume that the lack of sleep
Would promptly cause me to be

A complete mess.
A wreck.

And I think about it all the time:
When I complain about being tired.
Because I am entirely inspired
By your ability to cope
With Perpetual Exhaustion.

Because when I’m feeling drained
I can withdraw from others
And take an early night and be unbothered
And be totally alone.

But you?
You are always,
Mom.

It’s understandable
That you need to take breaks
For your mental health
And ensure that you maintain a wealth
Of coping mechanisms, outlets, and help.

But you are always,
Mom.

(And Dads, this poem is in admiration of you, too.
But I hope that you
Do not mind
For the sake of rhyme
And time,
I’m only addressing Moms.
Because you’re also incredible).

In our society, it is known and engrained
That when people step on a plane
They complain
If they’re seated next to a mother and baby.
But I want to say that possibly, maybe,
So many of us in seats adjacent
Look at you
With admiration.

Knowing, full well, that you are a superhero.

Because we may have one plane ride that is interrupted by crying
But you ensure that your kids are not only happy when flying
But that they are safe every single day.

Every
Day.

Every
Night.

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I sometimes struggle to manage everything in my own life.

Just one life.

While you,
In a display of
Superhuman strength
Juggle your schedule with
Your child’s and
Your children’s and
The diapers
And the moods and
Just…

How do you do it?

You’re astounding.

Once, years ago, I called my sister crying
Because I felt like I was dying
Because I was exhausted
And hot
And overwhelmed
And not being successful at anything.
And I asked her how she managed
To manage
Multiple lives, in addition to her own.
And she said, ‘I don’t.
I just survive.
And do the best that I can.
And I can’t do it all but
That’s all right as well.”

I know that many of my friends
Sometimes feel like they’re reaching their wits end
And that they’re not doing a good job
At parenting.
And I just want to say… you apparently
Don’t appreciate
How much you are doing.

I look at what I put my mother through and I wonder
How on Earth she continued
When I was such an annoying kid.

But who am I kidding.

She had an incredible internal strength.
You all do.

So on behalf of all of us without offspring,
I just want to say that you are amazing.

You are sensational.
Inspirational.

Thank you.

Image copyright Rochel Spangenthal