"The greatest work we will ever do will be within the walls of our home." — David O. McKay
This week I stayed with a friend who works as a family therapist, volunteers with her local church group, has three small (adorable!) children and a husband in residency to be an oncologist. I stayed in her home and she took care of me and my little girl and made our visit sooo wonderful. It was a few days into the trip and I started to feel so overwhelmed with her workload and expressed that to her. She told me, "I just don't feel like the good I do reaches very far." For me, being in her home, eating her delicious food and sleeping on her clean, soft sheets, watching her talk to neighbors and friends, work AND take care of her kids, I almost laughed out loud. "Are you kidding?!", I blurted back, but she was dead serious. I think the most amazing thing about being a woman, being a mom, is our innate desire to care for and love others. Sure, there are always times when we yell, cry and want to be alone, but for most of us, our sincerest desire is to have a reach for good. Some of us fulfill that desire through our babies, our work, our online influence or volunteer work. But, when our day is packed with care and we still don't feel like it's enough, I think we can take a step back and interpret this desire for increased influence not as a deficiency in anything we ARE doing but a drive to KEEP doing what we do. This Mother's Day I hope we can dig deeper, reroute our thoughts and draw attention to what we ARE doing, and not what we AREN'T. Our best work, our most influential work will always be done in our one-on-one interactions with those closest to us. The times when we are patient, forgiving and kind. The hardest part about these moments is that they are rarely ever seen, but require the most energy.
So, this Mother's Day we want to tell you that we SEE YOU. We see your love, hope, encouragement and kindness. We see you at work, at home, at play dates, at the store with screaming babies. We see you when you are sick with pregnancy, or up late with a sick baby or when your hormones are all over the place but you still show up and do what you can. We see your goodness and how you're following your desire to love and care for others, especially your little ones, and we want to tell you how amazing you are, mama. Thank you for sharing your bath moments, your mama moments and your everyday with us. We love being a part of this incredible community!
Happy Mother's Day, Mama!
xx Andrea
