Today is Mother’s Day, 2021. I am thinking about what it means to be a daughter to my mother, and a mother to my daughter. I am thinking about my grandmother, Ida, who taught me about unconditional love and hard work, and about my other grandmother, Cecile, who taught me how to express your love through cooking and knitting. I think about the ways I mother my nieces and nephews, my young friends, and about those who have mothered me and shaped me and influenced me. Let me tell you, I have depended on them heavily. It takes a village to raise an adult.
I am thinking about all of the different ways families come together and come apart. I am thinking about the fact that you don’t divorce your kids when you divorce your spouse. Nor do women stop being mothers when then become CEOs, when those in the service are deployed overseas, when their children are placed in foster care, or when they seek a better life across national borders. I am thinking about Ma’Khia Bryant who wanted nothing more than to be at home with her mother and not in foster care, and about George Floyd, calling for his mother as the breath left his body.
We all need our mothers, whether they are given or chosen. We need to mother ourselves.
I hope that you are loving yourself and your loved ones today. I hope you are receiving the love you need and deserve. I hope you are able to rest in that love. In the meantime, I came across words of wisdom from some mothers and grandmothers around the world, which I share with you today.
Happy Mother’s Day.