It’s Mother’s Day 2024!
This time around, I am in a different place. I am not just focused on the fact that I am a mom but also on my realities as a mom. What I mean is this: I am now the mom of two adult children—a young man who is three months away from his nineteenth birthday and a thirty-plenty woman who will be married in two months.
Years ago, I understood and hoped that sometime soon, when children reached eighteen years old, the responsibilities of motherhood would significantly dwindle and free up some space—emotionally, physically, and, of course, financially.
Well, that is not my hope anymore. I have come to understand that motherhood is lifelong. It has different stages and provides both parents and children the opportunity to evolve continuously.
As for me, or for my stage of motherhood, where I am parenting adults who are at least fifteen years apart, I am fully engaged. I realise that my responsibility as their chief intercessor if anything, has intensified rather than dwindled. I have also come to realise that they have the potential to expand my team by bringing in in-laws and grandchildren. This requires intentional adjustments and investment of my whole being. It also requires preparation.
More humans will be depending on me in real and personal ways for support in a variety of ways.
As a mom of adult children, on this Mother’s Day, I want to thank my children (by the way, only parents may get the chance to keep referring to them as children when they become adults) for making this parenting process easy for me. You are respectful and engaging. I appreciate you sharing your lives and decisions with me every step of the way and for keeping me grounded in prayer to ensure that I have the right responses to your questions and your needs for directions.
What makes our situation so interesting is that one of my children is thousands of miles away, yet it feels like we are all still in the same space in each other's faces, as we make a habit of doing.
Thanks to Jakim, who captures almost everything on camera to ensure that his beloved sister missed nothing. Thanks to you, Denesha, for capturing the moments and sharing them with us as well.
My heart is glad on this Mother’s Day! As a family, we paid the price, put in the work, and continue to do so. We have recognised that we are all in this together to the very end. Oh, how I am grateful for a new mindset.
I want to thank my children for one more thing. You move my heart every time I hear you say, in my devotion or while I read my Bible… That’s all I want. It doesn’t matter where you go or what you become; please live by Psalm 27:4 “One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to enquire in his temple.”
To the mothers in my circle, I want to encourage you to prepare to do the ministry of motherhood all the days of your life. I pray also that this will be our reality as our children will outlive us. Whatever your reality as a mom, today is your chance to count the wins and make plans tomorrow to work on the shortcomings.
Happy Mother’s Day from Auntie Nats
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