I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about kids this week, and not just my own two kids. You see, I live in a town where packs of kids roam the streets. I’m not talking about gangs, or mischievous vandals; I am talking about regular kids.
These kids are hungry for an adult to show them some kindness, to give them just a little bit of their time. They are looking for someone to care.
So, if you stop to engage a group of sixth grade girls, and get on them for not doing their homework, and take the time to find out what they all want to be when they grow up, they draw you pictures and ask if they can be your friend.
When you stoop down to see if you can help a little boy tie his shoe, he shows you the soles of his sneakers and how they are broken in two. You tell him they can be glued or fixed with duct tape (I mean, what can’t be fixed with duct tape?), but he says his mom won’t.
You make a home-cooked meal and just watch how many hungry kids fill your table.
This week, I’ve been struck with the importance of motherhood. Our kids need a mom. Those kids around us long for someone to cook them dinner and tell them to brush their teeth and do their homework.
Being a mom to your own children, or the kids around you, isn’t glamorous, or well-paid, or even fun most of the time, but it’s life-giving. It’s life transforming.
I’m so glad I have a mom who was a mom to me, and I’m so thankful I can be mom to my own two kids.
Sometimes my heart swells with love for them, and other times I want to use that duct tape on their mouths, but that’s what being a mom is all about. It’s the good, the bad, and the messy. It’s a crazy mixture of monotony and excitement.
Most of the time, it’s just exhausting.
But, we keep at it, because kids need their mom.
Happy Mother’s Day.
Similar Reads:
A Few Things Every Parent Should Know
How to Throw A Party Your Kids Will Never Forget
And, of course, my eBook – Mom’s, Life isn’t Perfect, but It Sure is Funny.
Around the Web:
We Mother On – Life in Grace
Surprised By Motherhood (the book) by Lisa-Jo Baker
To All The Giving Mothers: So God Made A Mother – A Holy Experience
The Best Gift An Adoptive Mom Can Give – Flower Patch Farmgirl
So many just need a mom to show she cares. What a gift you are to the neighborhood kids!
Thank you so much, sweet friend.
Hope your day was wonderful!
xoxo,
edie
Wow you got to the real heart of it. Very true. I happen to know two girls whose mom unfortunately really does not “non” it up much. I love when my girls are independent and can do things for them selves, to a certain extent. But when an 8 year old gets up, ready for school and breakfasted with only the help of her 11 year old sister, most likely not even seeing her mom, well, that just doesn’t feel right to me. I would love to have my kids actually pick up their stuff in their rooms, but I’m happy with the help they give me and that I can at least wake them up in the mornings LOL. When these girls come to visit me for a week every few months, they get taken care of in a way they aren’t used to ’cause that’s just who I am. I end up exhausted that week (partly because of my neat freak tendencies) but it’s worth it. The most worth it thing ever.
Kids sure do need a mom… what a blessing you must be to kids in your community Tricia:) Happy Mother’s Day!
A wise person once told me, “Whatever you do, be a mother to someone.” Truer words were never said.