Mother’s Day is one of my favorite days of the year. Not because I am celebrated, but because I get to celebrate my mom friends.
They inspire me to be a better person and a better mom. They have walked with me through my lowest valleys and cheered for my wins. Their presence, insights, and jokes bring understanding and laughter and tears.
So each Mother’s Day, I try to recognize my mom friends—how much they do for their families and for me. Motherhood takes a village, and these moms, spread around the globe, make up mine.
To my mom friends, thank you.
To Hannah, the mom I aspire to be, who parents with thoughtfulness and patience. Who pauses before responding. Who brought me delicious meals while my husband was away for months because “her family wouldn’t eat them anyway.” (But really, I think she was just making sure I ate something other than dino nuggets.)
To Carleton, who did my laundry (washed and dried and folded!) while my husband was away and I didn’t have a washer for a week. She tucked little face and foot masks into each laundry basket before setting them on my front porch. She created the most fun and inclusive playroom for her sensory-seekers, becoming the house where every neighborhood kid wanted to go.
To Genevieve, who cleaned her house before going on vacation just so my kids and I had a place to play while school was out and I finished packing our house to move. Who welcomes everyone and listens to everyone. Who is the fiercest advocate for her kids and their needs.
To Amanda, who always happened to ask if I wanted Starbucks on the hardest mornings of solo parenting, and who sat in the front yard while our kids played, keeping me company on lonely days. Who makes me laugh with her stories and tells me all the good makeup to buy so I don’t have to brave the teenage crowd at Sephora.
To Kelli, for showing up at my house to hold my baby so I could shower. For walking those first years of motherhood with me through all the tears and triumphs and anxieties that came with them.
To Wanda, Kelly, Megan, and Meghan, for helping me find strength and power in motherhood, inspiring me to try new things, and reminding me to take time for me.
And to my mom and my dearest friend . . .
Who raised three young girls by herself for two years after becoming a widow while working and going to school. Who taught me how to be smart and strong and kind. And who flies across the country when I need her, and who is the mom all my friends covet. If I’m half as good of a mom as she is, I will be doing OK.
Check out our Guide to Mother’s Day for some ideas for celebrating here in ABQ.
You are so amazing friend!! Gotta write you one too!
To Lindsey who has shown me that mothers can be both kind, thoughtful, caring and driven, tough and determined in equal measure. Also, doing big things for yourself, going after big goals, is absolutely possible even in the trickiest parts of motherhood if you take it a day at a time. She always has just the right thing to say in good and hard seasons and is both understanding of my faults and motivating me to be a better person. Also happens to be an excellent baker and makes a killer strawberry guacamole.