*This is for all the moms who froze their buns off on metal bleachers at football games on Friday nights instead of watching from cars, so that when their kids asked, "Did you see me?" they could say, "Of course, I wouldn't have missed it for the world," and meant it.
*This is for all the moms who have sat up all night with a sick toddler in their arms, wiping a fevered brow saying, "It's okay honey, Mommy's here."
*This is for all the moms who run carpools, make cookies, and sew costumes. And all the moms who DON'T.
*This is for all the moms who gave birth to babies they'll never see and all the moms who took those babies and gave them homes.
*This is for all the moms of the victims of all the senseless school shootings, the moms of the survivors, and the moms who sat in front of their TVs in horror, hugging their child who just came home from school safely.
*What makes a good mom anyway? Is it patience? Compassion? The ability to nurse a baby, cook dinner, and sew a button on all at the same time?
*Or is it heart? Is it the ache you feel when you watch your son or daughter disappear down the street walking to school alone for the very first time?
*The jolt that takes you from sleep to dread, from bed to crib at 2:00 a.m. to put your hand on the back of a sleeping baby?
*The need to flee from wherever you are and hug your child when you hear the news of a school shooting, a fire, a car accident, a child dying?
*So this is for all the moms who read "Goodnight, Moon" twice a night for a year. And then read it again. "Just one more time."
*This is for all the moms who taught their children to tie thier shoelaces before they started school. And for all the moms who opted for Velcro instead.
*This is for all the moms who bite their lips sometimes until they bleed - when their 14 year olds dye their hair green.
*This is for all the moms who lock themselves in the bathroom when their baby won't stop crying.
*This is for all the moms who show up at work with spit-up in their hair, milk stains on their blouses, and diapers in their purse.
*This is for all the moms who teach their sons to cook and their daughters to sink a jump shot.
*This is for all the moms who sent their sons to school with stomachaches, assuring them they'd be just FINE once they got there, only to get calls from the school nurse an hour later asking them to please pick them up. Right away.
*This is for all the moms whose heads turn automatically when a little voice calls "Mom?" in a crowd, even though they know their own offspring are at home.
*This is for the moms who put pinwheels and teddy bears on their children's graves.
*This is for the young moms stumbling through diaper changes and sleep deprivation.
*And mature moms learning to let go.
*For working moms and stay-at-home moms.
*Single moms and married moms.
*But most especially for those moms who teach their children about their Heavenly Father, who live a life of example, but aren't afraid to admit when they've done something wrong. For those who sing "Jesus Loves Me" to a fussing infant, who BRING their children to Sunday School, who love unconditionally.
