I love May.
It was the first month who’s name I learned to spell. They seem to be harder at both ends of the year and easier in the middle.
It was my Grandma’s middle name (Mae). Miss that lady!
Isn’t there something about April showers bringing May flowers and Mayflowers bringing Pilgrims? Yep. That’s it. I like Pilgrims.
May means spring in Oregon and no going back. Until May, winter is still a maybe.
May Day. I have some fond memories. My first go at it was the best one, mostly because I was in first grade, at my best friends house, and doing something I was sure my parents had never heard the likes of. Turned out they knew all about putting flowers on porches, ringing the bell and hiding in the shrubbery! Wow.
And then there is Mother’s Day. I am blessed with two inspiring mothers. Mine and his. I know, priceless.
The whole month of May is for motherhood. The awareness that I am a mother seems to sink in deeply like warm spring sun. I remember that I have people in my life who are depending on me to nurture them and train them and make memories with them. I remember that they love me “on my very best and very worst of days” and I do the same for them. I remember how much I love being called “mom”. It is like a blessing being bestowed on me. When the sun starts getting hotter in the middle of the summer, I need to remember May.
Motherhood is like a garden that weathers many seasons. If you are a new mother, you might not yet be over the shock that you can be so tired and so in love. So unbelievably in love. If you are a mother with children who are leaving home, you might not yet be over the shock that you could be so tired, so heartsick, so happy (and afraid?), learning to trust God more than you ever have in your life. (I guess you can tell this one is me. *sigh*)
When my oldest was about to graduate high-school, a neighbor called out to me while I was standing on my porch. He said
“How are you feeling about him moving?” “I’m not really done! He’s not where I thought he needed to be by the time he moved! I’ve been agonizing over it for months, then this morning I realized that he is going to have a pastor, teachers, bosses, and eventually a wife who will come into his life to help him mature! He even has GOD to help him! I also remembered how much I have matured since I graduated from high-school and he will too!” was the reply I yelled passionately across the street! My neighbor, a professional counselor, looked at me with a concerned expression and said “Uh-huh!” and quickly took cover inside his house. Yep, true story.
Like me, no matter the end of this garden-of-motherhood you are cultivating at the moment, I’m sure you have grown right along with your children. Grown in patience, joy, and perseverance. Grown in flexibility, resourcefulness and gentleness. Grown in selflessness, kindness and humility. Motherhood might have changed you as much as it has your children. In actuality,