Someday I’ll celebrate Mother’s Day
Today is mother’s day! So blessed to know so many great ones and I hope they all had a great day!
As a woman who’s battled infertility, I’ve spent my adult life thinking if I pray hard enough, hope long enough, wish upon enough stars, that someday I’ll celebrate mother’s day as a mother. And I spent every mother’s day sad that it hadn’t happened. This year instead of being sad, I’m working on redefining motherhood for myself. This is not to discount mommas, you rock, and you deserve all of our kudos, thanks and respect, but for women like me who haven’t been able to be moms (or even women who choose not to be moms) mother’s day can be hard. You always hear these quotes like.. “you’ve never experienced a love like the one you have for your kids” along with talk about when having kids makes you a “family”. And they may all be correct and apply once you have kids. But in my experience, they have made me feel like my life isn’t enough, that because I don’t have kids, my Life isn’t full and happy and whole. And that’s a hard thing to think. But redefining motherhood means I can see those quotes and realize they apply to me in my own way.
Not everyone gets to experience the love being a host mom brings… Accepting a total stranger into your home… (And a teenage one at that) who has been brought up by other people and has different life experiences than you… Having that person (and their PARENTS) suddenly rely and trust in you wholly to keep them safe and care for them just as they would if they were home. Being Nora’s host mom brought a totally new kind of love into my life. And continues to. She wishes me happy mother’s day every year. She is truly part of our family. I may never have a child of my own, but with her I got to experience helping her get ready for prom, get a driver’s license, and watched her cross the stage at graduation. We even got to experience taking her to Disney World for her first time. And forever, she will belong in our family. Not to mention the added bonus of now having extended family I’ve never met, but love regardless, in Norway!
Jennifer, ICES host mom in Texas
hosting Nora from Norway
