Letter to a New Mom on Mother's Day

Dear New Mom,
You must be tired. You may not have slept a lot in the past few months and you may not remember what it is like to have two arms all to yourself. And although your wardrobe is now complete with spit-up stains and jewelery that will keep your little one entertained, you have never been more beautiful. You may not ever be able to count on taking a shower or getting your hair and make-up just right, but trust me, you are glowing.
Your whole life has led you to this moment. Isn't that crazy? It is finally here. And your education, your jobs, your friends and family, your exciting adventures have all prepared you for the time when you would bring a child into this world and make him your world. Yes, this may include giving up what you used to know of your body, your social life, your career, and even some of your identity, but the sacrifices are nothing compared to the gift of motherhood.
Because motherhood is a gift. Many never realize what a blessing and privilege it is, but as one who has waited for a mother's day to call her own, it is nothing short of a miracle. To think of the sacred and holy responsibility to raise up one of God's children and to realize how just how much trust He has placed in you... what an amazing, amazing gift.
At times you may feel like you have no idea what you are doing. You may think that there should have been something to prepare you for this in college or at church or somewhere and you may wonder why no one ever told you how inadequate you would really be as a mom. But you are ready. You have always been ready. Afterall, you were raised by a mother too. You watched her sing silly songs and make crazy faces all your life. You listened to her tell you everything was going to be ok and tell you how proud she was of you. You watched her love her husband and take care of her family. You saw her sacrifice many things to make sure that you knew that you were loved and that you had a good example to follow. You heard her share her love for the Savior and the prophets. You saw her love and serve her family, friends and neighbors. And even though at times you insisted you were nothing like her, you are now grateful that in so many ways you are just like your mom.
You may regret those teenage years when you thought she just didn't understand. Now you know that she does. She really does. And the love, oh the love that she must feel for you! As you look at your precious little one, can you imagine that someone else might love you just as much as you love him? Can you believe that you were once as he was? And that she was once as you are now? And just like you, she had doubts and worries and questions, but look - you turned out alright, didn't you?
And that is the beauty of it. Though you may be teaching and training him up, really it is you who is the student. It is you who will learn of love and joy, of sacrifice and faith, of patience and perseverance. And then one day, he will have a child of his own... and oh how much he will love.

happy mother's day to mom's old and new.

mom, i love you so much and hope you know of the renewed appreciation that i have for all that you have done for me now that i have walked a few days in your shoes. you've always asked for happy and well-behaved children for mother's day. i am so happy and always working on the well-behaved part. :)


shelly, i can never thank you enough for the father you raised as your son. he is everything you could have ever hoped for. happy mother's day


clint, thank you for making my day (and every other day) so wonderful. you make it so easy to be a mom and i am so happy that our son has you for a father. i love our little family more than anything in the world.


owen, today i feel like the luckiest mom in the world. i am so grateful to have you in my life and i can't believe how good it is to be a mother. thank you for bringing a new purpose to my life and for bringing me more happiness than i ever thought was possible. from the moment i saw you i knew you would change me forever. the day you came into this world was the best day of my life, yet some how each day gets better. i love you and am so proud to be your mom.




a few good quotes about mother's:
"motherhood brings as much joy as ever, but it still brings boredom, exhaustion, and sorrow too. nothing else ever will make you as happy or as sad, as proud or as tired, for nothing is quite as hard as helping a person develop his own individuality especially while you struggle to keep your own.." -Marguerite Kelly and Elia Parsons

"the noblest calling in the world is motherhood. true motherhood is the most beautiful of all arts, the greatest of professions. She who can paint a masterpiece, or who can write a book that will influence millions, deserves the plaudits and admiration of mankind but she who rears successfully a family of healthy, beautiful sons and daughters whose immortal souls will exert an influence throughout the ages long after paintings shall have faded, and books and statues shall have decayed or been destroyed, deserves the highest honor that man can give and the choicest blessings of God." -David O. Mckay

"there is no such thing as the perfect mother... we just do the best we can with the help of the Lord, and who knows these children who are struggling to be free may someday rise up and call us blessed." - Marjorie Pay Hinckley

"when God wants a great work done in the world or a great wrong righted, he goes about it in a very unusual way. he dousen't stir up his earthquakes or send forth his thunderbolts. instead he has a helpless baby born, perhaps in a simple home of some obscure mother. and then god puts the idea into the mother's heart and she puts it into the baby's mind. and then God waits." - E. T. Sullivan