The Sweetest Mother's Day Gift!

A Good Mom is the Greatest Gift I’ve Ever Been Given

3 Minute Read

By Charissa West

Mother's Day thank you mom www.herviewfromhome.com — George Rudy/Shutterstock.com

As a kid, I always thought Mother’s Day was kind of stupid. After all, you have a birthday. Why did we need a special holiday to honor you being our mom?

Now, my feelings about Mother’s Day are still a bit ambivalent, but it’s mainly because the holiday just seems so trivial stacked up against the legacy of motherhood. It doesn’t feel like enough.

How can I boil down a lifetime of gratitude and love into a card and some flowers, maybe even a nice brunch? I can’t, and that’s never been more clear since becoming a mom myself.

Nothing wakes up you up to the all-encompassing, overwhelming job of motherhood like having kids of your own.

Mom, you always seemed to know what you were doing. It’s only now that I realize every mom is basically winging it, learning as she goes and trying to make the best decisions she can.

You always seemed so confident. It’s only now that I realize every mom is trapped in a constant battle with doubt. Am I doing enough? Is everyone OK now? Will everyone be OK later?

You always seemed to balance it all so well. You juggled work, meals, sports, classes, and activities—not just for us, but for our friends, as well. It’s only now that I realize what a feat that is, how shouldering all of that responsibility can some days feel like it might break you.

Now that I’ve embarked on this overwhelming journey for myself, I realize that the only thing I could ever say on Mother’s Day, or any day, is “thank you”.

Thank you for always loving me.

Thank you for always supporting me.

Thank you for secretly loathing my enemies but always encouraging me to do the kind thing.

Thank you for encouraging me to do my best, but also giving me a soft place to land when my best wasn’t good enough.

Thank you for doing your best, even when it was hard. Even when it was scary. Even when you didn’t know what to do.

Thank you for mothering me still, as I learn to navigate motherhood for myself, with all its twists and turns, challenges, and uncertainties.

The truth is, a good mom is the greatest gift I’ve ever been given. I see its dividends everywhere. There’s not a moment I’ve lived that hasn’t been covered by God’s grace and steeped in your love.

You’re celebrating another Mother’s Day without your own mom, and I hate that for you. Still, one thing I’ve learned is that the gift of a good mom never stops giving, even long after your mom stops living.

I see the impact of your great mom in my life the same way my kids are seeing your impact in theirs. It is a legacy I hope to continue with my own grandchildren.

As a child, I didn’t know everything that you did, and I certainly didn’t always appreciate it, but today, please consider these words my lifetime of “thank you”.

Thank you for everything I never even realized you did.

Happy Mother’s Day, Mom.

Originally published on the author’s blog

You may also like:

Mother’s Day Looks Different When Your Mom is in Heaven

Dear Mom, I’ve Never Wondered About Your Love

5 Reasons To Appreciate Mom on Mother’s Day

So God Made a Grandmother book by Leslie Means

If you liked this, you'll love our book, SO GOD MADE A GRANDMA

Order Now!

Charissa West

Charissa West is a high school classroom teacher turned stay-at-home, work-at-home mother. When she is not busy chasing around her three young sons, she works as an online teacher and freelance writer. She shares her honest, sarcastic, hilarious thoughts on parenting on her blog, The Wild, Wild West, with the goal of helping moms laugh at anything motherhood may throw at them.

Soon There Will Be No More Breakfasts To Make

In: Grown Children, Motherhood, Teen

Ten boy eating breakfast at kitchen counter

T-minus 44 days until a new beginning- Math has never been my strong suit or my favorite subject, but it will be about 19 years spent rising and trying to shine in our house. Nineteen years of prepping one, two, or all three of our sons to get up and ready for school. Nineteen years of making breakfast. Nineteen years of making lunches. For those of you in the thick of it right now, you know exactly what I mean. I think my husband Steve and I have it down to a science now. If we had to do it...

Keep Reading

I’m Learning To Let Go of What Was To Embrace What Is

In: Faith, Grown Children, Motherhood

Family of four standing out side in fall

I’ve been waking up in the middle of the night a lot lately. Heart pounding. Mind racing. Ever been there? The house is still, but my thoughts are loud. One night, I finally whispered in the dark, “Lord, what’s this really about?” In His grace, He showed me: I’ve been bracing for a season that’s quickly approaching. One I haven’t exactly welcomed with open arms. They call it the empty nest. I’m a mom of three boys. For over two decades, my life has revolved around carpools, ball games, grocery runs, and Mount-Everest-sized laundry piles. It’s been loud and messy...

Keep Reading

Dear New College Parents: It Gets Easier

In: Grown Children, Motherhood

Dorm supplies are center stage at Target, ready for college students and their parents to find with ease as they try to make a dorm room feel like a haven. For the first time in eight years, I do not have a child returning to a “home away from home” on a college campus. In many ways, I find peace with this knowledge; I mean, it is stressful to get a college student and all of their campus possessions moved into a new place during the hottest part of the summer. But in some ways, I find myself a bit...

Keep Reading

I Want His College Experience to Be His Own

In: Grown Children, Motherhood

College boy looking at large building on campus

Back in the day, when I applied for college, my options were limited. By geography. By my GPA. By my ACT score. I didn’t have the accolades that my college-bound son does to make the decision process as difficult as his was. A recruited athlete. A national merit scholar. A rock-solid ACT score. Not bound by us to any geographic region. All the things. I share this not to brag, but rather to paint the picture of the incredible options he had to choose from. And let me say, the decision-making was brutal. It started with ruling out most of...

Keep Reading

I’m Watching Him Become the Man I Prayed He’d Be

In: Grown Children, Motherhood

Mom with arm around grown son, view from back

It’s been a hard day. One of those days where everything feels loud. We are renovating our house—it’s time. Actually, it’s way past time. The amount of time that makes you wonder how you lived like this for so long. Twenty years ago, I bought a refrigerator I found on Craigslist for $200. The icemaker didn’t work. The water dispenser was purely decorative. But I babied that thing through two decades of family dinners and midnight snacks. Same with the stove. When my son was three, he climbed upon the stove to retrieve a ball I had confiscated earlier that...

Keep Reading

This Bridge to Empty Nesting is So Bittersweet

In: Grown Children, Motherhood

Long walking bridge leading toward ocean

Motherhood. A tremendous, all-encompassing role. One that takes a great deal of energy, time, heart, and soul to do it justice. When you’re raising a child, you become so immersed in their world: babyhood and the exciting firsts; toddlerhood and tantrums; preschool and playdates. Elementary and middle school years are packed with homework, after-school activities, and carpooling. And finally, high school, with its greater autonomy and nerve-wracking firsts, such as driving and staying out late. The years pass simultaneously quickly and slowly. Next thing you know, you’re helping your young adult prepare to fly from the nest. We teach our...

Keep Reading

I’m Falling Into the Goodbye Hole

In: Grown Children, Motherhood

Mother and grown son standing outside smiling for photo

When I first became a mother, I never wanted to leave our firstborn, ever. True story: the first time my husband and I went for a dinner out, we ate as fast as we could, only talked about the baby, and wondered why we had left him with a sitter. We rushed back in 45 minutes, much to the sitter’s surprise. She looked stunned and thought to herself, “These people have to get a life!” That was the first goodbye, and now that our boys are in their 20s, the number of goodbyes keeps piling up. Saying goodbye is one...

Keep Reading

To My Grown Kids, These Are My Promises to You

In: Grown Children, Motherhood

If I could have known what was to come when you were little, I would have written this then. But here we are. You are 22,19, and 16. They say the terrible twos are a hard age? Ha! That’s nothing compared with the adults (or near adult) who are looking at me now! Here’s what I would have said then, and what I still vow to you now, more than ever: First, what I can’t promise. I can’t promise it will be easy or that I won’t make mistakes. It won’t, and I will. I can’t promise you everything you...

Keep Reading

I Waited My Whole Childhood for a Dad

In: Grown Children, Living

Like so many kids are, I was raised by a single mom—the kind of woman who always put her kids first and did her absolute best to provide everything she possibly could for us. She worked 12-hour days to keep a roof over our heads and spent her last pennies ensuring our birthdays and Christmas were times to remember. Sometimes she chose not to eat so she knew we would have enough food for several days in a row. She was a superwoman! But she was lonely, and as I grew up, I noticed it more and more. Then one...

Keep Reading

Dear Senior Mamas, That Smile Is Worth It All

In: Grown Children, Motherhood

“One, two, three! Say, ‘Cheese!’” About two months ago, senioritis was so ripe in our home you could smell it. The pressure was thick; everything felt like a countdown. One more AP test, one more meeting, one more honors ceremony, and then he’s finally done. In all of that brilliance, this mom realized she hadn’t scheduled senior pictures for her precious firstborn. Thankfully, he entertained me amidst his exhaustion. During the session, my son was so tired, and I was so desperate to get THAT smile. You mamas know the one. The one they gave you when they first rode...

Keep Reading

Motherhood is a Repeated Offering of Love

Motherhood

Motherhood is a Repeated Offering of Love

I Don't Know if it's ADHD, But I Do Know My Son Needs Me to Fight For Him

Child

A Good Mom is the Greatest Gift I’ve Ever Been Given

If you liked this, you'll love our book, SO GOD MADE A GRANDMA

Charissa West

Soon There Will Be No More Breakfasts To Make

I’m Learning To Let Go of What Was To Embrace What Is

Dear New College Parents: It Gets Easier

I Want His College Experience to Be His Own

I’m Watching Him Become the Man I Prayed He’d Be

This Bridge to Empty Nesting is So Bittersweet

I’m Falling Into the Goodbye Hole

To My Grown Kids, These Are My Promises to You

I Waited My Whole Childhood for a Dad

Dear Senior Mamas, That Smile Is Worth It All

Get It Now

So God Made a Mother

A Good Mom is the Greatest Gift I’ve Ever Been Given

If you liked this, you'll love our book, SO GOD MADE A GRANDMA

Soon There Will Be No More Breakfasts To Make

I’m Learning To Let Go of What Was To Embrace What Is

Dear New College Parents: It Gets Easier

I Want His College Experience to Be His Own

I’m Watching Him Become the Man I Prayed He’d Be

This Bridge to Empty Nesting is So Bittersweet

I’m Falling Into the Goodbye Hole

To My Grown Kids, These Are My Promises to You

I Waited My Whole Childhood for a Dad

Dear Senior Mamas, That Smile Is Worth It All

Previous Post

Next Post

You May Also Like