Saturday, May 13, 2017

This Mother's Day

This Mother's Day is a special one for me. I wrote last year about being a Mom to a child with special needs, and I didn't think my heart could be any more full, but this year we opened our home to two precious foster babies, and our world has forever changed.

I cannot let this Mother's Day go by without acknowledging just how grateful and proud I feel to be the mother of these three children. Brennen made me a mother twelve years ago, and it has been a crazy journey ever since, but I feel like I've entered the world of motherhood all over again with these two little ones. We are in full-on baby mode over here! It is exhausting and messy and hard, and I can't wait to sleep a full eight hours straight again someday (hopefully), but it is all so very worth it. The joy these little ones have brought into our lives in such a short time has been incredible, and we love them deeply.

As prepared as Andrew and I were for the task of caring for these children, I don't think we were prepared for how quickly we would become attached to these babies and truly love them like our own. It surprised me, I'll be honest. We were used to caring for children in a professional child care role, and I guess I thought that fostering would feel a lot like that, but I was wrong. I am not just caring for these children. I am not just fostering them. I am mothering them, and with that comes the universal feelings of motherhood: Love. Joy. Worry. Fear. Guilt. Grief. Gratitude. All of the emotions of being a Mom.

 "Children aren’t a distraction from more important work, they are the most important work." - C.S. Lewis 


My journey of motherhood isn't what I ever expected it to look like, but my eyes are widening and my heart is expanding to ways of mothering that I had not previously considered.

While I am immensely thankful for the joy I have in being a mother, I know that others are not so fortunate. Mother's Day is a hard, hard day for so many. I can't help but think about the mother who has lost a child. Or the child who has lost their mother. I think about the many women who want nothing more than to be a Mom, but are unable to have children, and I think about the birth mothers who, for whatever reason, have been separated from their little ones. My heart goes out to anyone who might be struggling on this day.

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There are so many ways to honour the journey of motherhood. Paperless Post offers ways to celebrate all of the Moms in your life with Mother's Day cards and invitations. Browse hundreds of designs and customize your favourite one to reflect your personal style. Their cards are available on paper - with engraving, letterpress, thermography, foil-stamping and flat printing - and online.

They even have a scheduling tool that lets you choose a card and have it sent to your desired recipient in time for Mother's Day. So go ahead. Send your Mom a card to let her know she is loved and appreciated. Call your Grandma. Spend the day with your besties. In whatever way that feels right for you, join me in reaching out and celebrating the incredible women who touch our lives in such beautiful and powerful ways.



Visit Paperless Post at www.paperlesspost.com

This post was published in cooperation with Anagram Interactive.

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