remember mom...

Someone sent me this years ago and I kept it.  It's worth sharing again.

To All Mothers 
 This is for all the mothers who have sat up all night 
with sick toddlers in their arms, wiping up barf laced 
with Oscar Mayer wieners and cherry Kool-Aid 
saying, "It's OK honey, Mommy's here." when they 
keep crying and won't stop. 
 
This is for all the mothers who show up at work with 
spit-up in their hair and milk stains on their blouses 
and diapers in their purse. 

For all the mothers who run carpools and make 
cookies and sew Halloween costumes. And all the 
mothers who DON'T. 
 
This is for the mothers who gave birth to babies they'll 
never see. And the mothers who took those babies 
This is for all the mothers who froze their buns off on 
metal bleachers at football or soccer games Friday 
night instead of watching from cars, so that when their 
kids asked, "Did you see me?" they could say, "Of 
course, I wouldn't have missed it for the World," and 
mean it. 
 
This is for all the mothers who yell at their kids in the 
grocery store and swat them in despair when they 
stomp their feet like a tired 2-year old who wants ice 
cream before dinner. 
 
This is for all the mothers who sat down with their 
children and explained all about making babies. And 
for all the mothers who wanted to but just couldn't. For 
all the mothers who read "Goodnight, Moon" twice a 
night for a year. And then read it again. "Just one 
more time." 
 
This is for all the mothers who taught their children to 
tie their shoelaces before they started school. And for 
all the mothers who opted for Velcro instead. This is 
for all the mothers who teach their sons to cook and
their daughters to sink a jump shot. 
 
This is for all mothers whose heads turn automatically 
when a little voice calls "Mom ?" in a crowd, even 
though they know their own off spring are at home. 
 
This is for all the mothers who sent their kids to 
school with stomach aches, assuring them they'd be 
just FINE once they got there, only to get calls from 
the school nurse an hour later asking them to please 
pick them up right away. 
 
This is for mothers whose children have gone astray,
who can't find the words to reach them. 
 
For all the mothers who bite their lips sometimes until 
they bleed-when their 14 year olds dye their hair 
green. 
 
What makes a good Mother anyway? Is it patience? 
Compassion? Broad hips? The ability to nurse a baby, 
cook dinner, and sew a button on a shirt, all at the 
same time? 
 
Or is it heart? Is it the ache you feel when you watch 
your son or daughter disappear down the street, 
walking to school alone for the very first time? 
 
The jolt that takes you from sleep to dread, from bed 
to crib 2 A.M.to put your hand on the back of a 
sleeping baby? 
 
The need to flee from wherever you are and hug your 
child when you hear news of a fire, a car accident, a 
child dying? For all the mothers of the victims of all 
these school shootings, and the mothers of those who 
did the shooting. For the mothers of the Survivors, 
and the mothers who sat in front of their TVs in horror, 
hugging their child who just came home from 
school, safely. 
 
This is for mothers who put pinwheels and teddy bears 
on their children's graves. 
 
This is for young mothers stumbling through diaper 
changes and sleep deprivation. And mature mothers 
learning to let go. 
 
For working mothers and stay-at-home mothers. 
Single mothers and married Mothers. Mothers with 
money, mothers without. 
 
This is for you all. So hang in there.  "Home is what 
catches you when you fall-and we all fall."