A Mother's Worth
Jazmine McKinney
Now I know you ALL think your mom is great, amazing, spectacular, the b.e.s.t down to the very last letter
But my mom...
Is better
The funny thing is
Everyone feels this way as if to say
"I'm not doubting that your mother is a pretty cool mom
But as far a mommy's go...my mommy's the bomb"
Which got me thinking...
Maybe moms aren't supposed to be compared to each other
Maybe that's like article 3 section 6 in the handbook of mother
Cuz we've all listened to someone else's story of how their mother is absolutely divine
While smiling and thinking "not diviner than mine..."
Which got me thinking...
About a mother's worth
Now originally-not surprisingly-priceless is the only word I could find
But then I thought...how dare I not take all the prices they pay into mind
Maybe a mother is worth 1.
Not the loneliest number or the lowest possible value
I mean the 1 that speaks volumes.
Maybe moms are uniquely defined by a series of 1st's
They can almost instantly recall their child's 1st steps
Their very 1st A
...and their very 1st F
Waiting and wishing that their baby's 1st words would just hurry up
Then spending the next 20 years wishing they would just shut up
Maybe it's the very 1st date...which seemed to rapidly produce the very 1st heart break
Mom is always 1st to arrive on any accident scene
Or the 1st one you run to when the world gets too mean
They have this way of making you feel like it's just them and you
Which got me thinking...Maybe a mom is worth 2
Not the 2nd place 2 or the next runner up but the 2 x 2 because moms double up
They do double the work for double the kids
They work themselves to death so their children can live
Maybe their worth 2x the respect and 2x the love
Because
They put their lives 2nd just to take care of us
Maybe it's all the 2nd chances
Or
Maybe it's just the 2nd's (seconds)
In each minute of each day
Of each week of each month
Of each year that they give every 2nd (second)
To completely be here
Maybe their worth is defined by letting their 2 little girls walk to school alone for the first time
But trailing them at a reasonable distance from behind
Just making sure they make it...
Making sure they look both ways when crossing the street
Making sure they don't talk to any strangers they meet
Then getting pulled over by the local police...
Cuz the officer thinks they're a kidnapping creep
But then I got to thinking...maybe it's 3
Don't all good things come in 3's?
But then again...3rd times a charm is a phrase I don't like
Like they tried to create moms twice and didn't get it right
I doubt mothers can be manufactured...they're too unique
Can you imagine how many templates they'd need?
Housewife-mom who cooks, cleans, washes, folds, carpools, cooks, and...cleans some more.
Foster-mom who is molded to perfectly fit the void of a parentless child
While
Manufactures are trying to find a way to make the grandmother-mom
Who serves both roles exhausted at the end of the day...but wouldn't have things any other way
Widow-mom who overlooks the pain in her past
To give the children a future like the life they never had
The working-mom who works all day to come home...and work all night
I wanna see the engineers try to piece together the dad-mom.
The superhuman guy that LOOKS like a father...and cares like a mommy
He had to learn a mother's love, heart and touch
And has the audacity to wonder if he'll ever be enough
Similar to the aunt-mom and sibling-mom
In essence...
Every real mother spends time second guessing
I'm pretty sure a mothers worth is defined by hearing her daughter call milk...ock
For the umpteenth time, escaping from the crib like a prison break, banging on pots and pans
Wailing
Looking on and all the while thinking...I'm sure I'm failing...
But there is no school of motherhood
(If there were...mine would be summa cum laude)
No special mother certification degree
(If there were...mine would have 2 PHD's)
...and though mine would be head coach...
There's no training
No complaining, no handbook, no days off, no overtime, no crying, no quitting, no getting tired, no getting hired, no getting fired, no raises, no promotions, no pensions, no reimbursement, no vacation time, no spare time, no fair time, no flex hours, no superpowers, no clocking out, no awards, no retirement, no breaks...any reasonable person would say no thanks
But that's what separates the real mothers from the fakes
Mothers face a challenge with a mother embrace
There's the fantastic 4
5 seconds of fame
The 6th sense
Lucky #7
Magic 8 balls
Yet that doesn't seem to capture it all
Which got me thinking...
Maybe mothers aren't defined by numbers
Maybe their worth is determined by moments
Milestones
The one time they feel proud outweighs all the numerous times they felt down and out
A mother is a gift from God to help us sift through the hard times in life
Laugh through the good ones
Smile through the rough ones
Cry through the sad ones
All the while standing tall
Which got me thinking...
Maybe a mother's worth is priceless after all