On the Subject of Motherhood

In honor of Mother's Day today I decided to post essentially me gushing about why my mother is more important than air or microwavable mac 'n cheese. So I have come up with the following list.

Reasons I Adore/Need My Mother

1. Motivation comes in a five foot four package.

       My mother has the uncanny ability to motivate. She could look at a tree in the dead of winter it would be so pumped little green leaves would start popping out left and right. It makes me one of the happiest young ladies to claim her as the woman who gave birth to me. Growing up, she was always there when I was faced with any type of choice. “Do what you’ll like” she always told me.  “We’ll help you anyway we can.” She probably didn’t understand that through that clause I would rope her into dance lessons, basketball teams, soccer practices, synchronized swimming competitions, and so many hours of dealing with a little, frustrated Megan pouting on the couch. I never doubted my mother’s support because she vocalized it freely; it seemed that she constantly had a portion of her brain devoted to me and what I would need. I can’t even do something like that for school, perhaps it’s one of those talents that came after the first born child arrived. The sweetest thing of all is my mom’s incredible enthusiasm for anything and everything I attempt. When I first decided I wanted to go into Film it was a complete hairpin turn from my previous career aspirations in nursing. Then I come in with some hare brained idea to instead pursue a career in the Arts (with a capital A, mind you). Even though I thought I would be a disappointment to my mother, I had made up my mind and that is the point of no return for me. Do you know what? She was behind me 100%. She could tell that this was something I really, REALLY wanted to do. Though it didn’t stop her (and other family members) from dropping occasional hints about the benefits (career and financial-wise) of going into either engineering or the medical field. Still, she knows how to get excited and get others around her excited too. She may be small, but she packs one inspirational punch.

2. She knows exactly how stressed I am by the state of my hair

      Mother knows me VERY well. So well, in fact, she is a regular Sherlock Holmes when it comes to reading me. When I lived at home, she would know how stressed I was simply by the state of my hair. She would know if I was lying because apparently I do funny things with my mouth when I’m fibbing. She knew when something was extremely important to me just by watching me talk about it. To my mother, I am an open book. We have built such a strong relationship over the years, I thank my Heavenly Father every day for that. Many of my friends would talk badly about their mothers or would constantly fight or compete with their moms. But not me and my mom. Mostly because I knew that I would instantly lose any fight I started with my mother. Also, because I knew that she loved me. She loved me and that was all I needed to know that she’d be an ally in battle. Every day I know she thinks about me because I think about her just as much, probably more. Being able to call her up at any time and just chat about life is one of the greatest blessings of having a mother. I thank my lucky stars that she is counted among my friends. Every night, I pray that I will love and befriend my children just as my mother did for me. It seems crazy right now; the thought of bearing and raising children of my own makes me want to curl up in a blanket and rock back and forth. However, thanks to the divine appointment God has endowed women with, I feel more confident that when the time comes I will have a chance to put my maternal instincts into action. I know as a youngster I sure tested my mother’s maternal instincts. My parents both became stronger through trying to tame a terror like me. I will be apologizing for that for the rest of my life, I’m sure. In any case, I am so glad and even relieved that my mother knows who I am inside and out, backwards and forwards, just like a best friend should.

 

3. Mother really does know best

      My mom is one smart cookie. I don’t think I ever went through a phase when I didn’t know that my mother was smarter than me. Mothers everywhere don’t become great moms because they passed Motherhood 101 or they earned straight As in Patience 202. Experience is the heart of understanding. If that is true, then no wonder my mother is such a smarty pants. Every time I leave home to come back to college, I kick myself because I didn’t ask my mom more about her life. I learn so much from her already, even though I am the selfish, blond, 20 something who doesn’t’ know quite what she wants in life. I love that I come from a home that has two very intelligent, very sensible parents. It brings a little order to the nut house known as the Williams Zoo (sometimes I was tempted to answer the phone “Williams’ Zoo, which animal do you want to talk to?”). Luckily, my parents complement each other so perfectly; neither one is “greater” nor “smarter,” they are just parents. Mamma Williams will do everything in her power to help us kids even if she doesn’t know the first thing about whatever we are working on. My dear mother, bless her soul, went back through Pre-Calculus text books to re-learn the concepts in order to help my brother and I with homework in high school. She went through high school mathematics, not once (which is more than I ever wanted) but three times with each of use and probably a 4^th time as my youngest sister goes into high school. I think people have been granted sainthood for less. Ok, that was out of line, but in all seriousness who wants to go through high school algebra and calculus four times by choice? When my mom doesn’t know something (which I don’t think is anything) she makes sure she learns it. It’s a good thing she has such a loving and enthusiastic heart. I would have given up so many times when my mom kept pushing through. There have been many times I look at my mom and think “Huh, well that was downright genius. Never would have thought of that.” Genius comes after many other identifiers I have for her, first and foremost among them being “Mom.”

4. She has magic powers only a mother possess

     Every time I lose something and I’ve looked for it for hours on end (okay, more like 20 minutes), I know the moment I ask my mom to go look for it she'll find it in a heartbeat. No matter what I’ve done in search of it. It’s magic I tell you. The moment I get my mother involved all she has to do is think about finding it and the object will appear. At one point I asked her when I would get my super powers. She replied, “Once you‘ve given birth to your first child. It’s an acquired skill.” As disappointed as I was, I have been very excited to become a mother; if for nothing else but the ability to hear things from any room in the house, or have eyes in the back of my head, or the ability to simply look at someone and make them cower before crossing me. My mother has been a force to be reckoned with since before I can remember. Having two teenage brothers at home, I see how my mom can convince them to clean up the kitchen with nothing more than intonation in a comment. Mamma rules the roost. Yet she is the most loving, tender, funny, and interesting woman I’ve ever been privileged to meet. If anyone deserves super powers on this earth, it would be mothers. Who else has the guts to cook, clean, care, nurture, drive, shop, and love so many people? I think of mothers being pre-made to handle pressures beyond their wildest dreams. Then, she comes out the other side more beautiful as a human being than she could have been before. I’ve seen first-hand how graceful under pressure my mother is. In my book, she could take down Wonder Woman any day. 

Well, Mom, I love you very, very much. Here's to 20 years of being  great mother! To finish off, I think this extremely sappy video for Mother's Day says it all. 

Happy Mother's Day, Mom!