UPDATED:

I think Lonestar also does an outstanding job of summing up a “day in the life of a mom” –

Papers go in the maytag drier
Crayons go one drawer higher
Rewind Barney for the 18th time
Breakfast six, naps at nine

But you should really just listen for yourself:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5PokBAxtvW4&hl=en&fs=1]

Tell you what – there’s nothing that gets me quite as pumped up as thinking about the community of women out there in great big cyberspace that, like me, are bleary-eyed and tired but still up and at ’em in the mornings. They are wrangling the little ones away from their blankets and out of their jammies. They are fixing breakfast on the go, and packing up diaper bags and bottles and blankies and paccies. They are juggling coats and kids and car keys as they get their day started at the usual 110 miles per hour. They are women who make it happen on a daily basis. They are the heart and soul of their families and sometimes, in the daily grind, we can forget just how remarkable who they are and what they do is.

So, I wanted to pause today and remind you how fantastic you are for what you do. And to recognize how little credit moms often get (I don’t know if a 3-year old’s comment on a newly vacuumed floor — “looks good, mama”– counts). And I realize that it often comes in the form of sticky kisses and bear-hugs, but I thought you might enjoy hearing it from a renowned (male) author who pretty much had his socks knocked off after he was invited into a delivery room. And his dazed and confused state of awe continued into the next few days as he saw moms in a whole new light.

This is from Eugene Peterson (he wrote “The Message” version of the Bible):

“A few years ago I was invited by my daughter-in-law to be present at the birth of her third child. She knew how disappointed I was in never being permitted to be in on the births of my own three children…The birthing took place a few days after Christmas, so my mind and heart were well staturated with the songs and stories of Jesus’ birth as my wife and I drove at 2am to the hospital in Tacoma in anticipation of experiencing this birth.

Nowhere I have ever been and nothing I have ever done in God’s creation rivals what I experienced in that birthing room. The setting was austere – antiseptic and functional – but the life, the sheer life, exploding out of the womb that night, transformed it into a place of revelation. My son received the baby into his hands as she came into the world: “Welcome, Sadie Lynn!”

I have climbed mountain peaks that gave me views of glaciated mountains in wave after wave of ranges, but none of those breathtaking vistas was comparable to seeing that baby enter the world; I have heard the most delicate and exquisite birdsong and some of the best musicians in the world, but no sounds rivaled the cries of that baby.

The day after the birth I was in the grocery store getting some vegetables and grains for the family. There were several mothers shopping up and down the aisles with young children in tow- many of them snarling and snapping at the over-lively, curiousity-filled, wildly energetic kids. I wanted to grab the mothers, embrace them, tell them, “Do you realize what you have done? You have given birth to a child, a

child– this miracle, this wonder, this glory. You’re a Madonna! Why aren’t you in awe and on your knees with the magi, with the shepherds?”

Luckily, I restrained myself. ”


Christ Plays in Ten Thousand Places
, pages 58-59.

Lucky is right, because when you’ve had a long day at work and still have to run to the store to pick up something (anything!) for dinner, the last thing you want is a lecture from a man grocery shopping alone, unencumbered by two other human beings entwined around his legs.

But, it sure is nice to be reminded how magnificent we are! How what we do matters! How we are shaping a generation, molding young lives and making them into the best versions of themselves we can help create.

It is awesome. You are awesome. Here’s to YOU! Let’s take some time out from the day-to-dayness and stop to salute the wonder of motherhood. Leave a comment and a shout-out to the upside of being a mom.

Here’s lookin’ at YOU, mama!