Happy Mother’s Day from Abe Lincoln (and a few others)

As Mother’s Day approaches, I wanted to offer something a little different than the typical Mother’s Day post.  After some research, I have rounded up a handful of not-so-typical Mom quotes, (with a brief response to each.)  Enjoy!

“Motherhood is a choice you make everyday, to put someone else’s happiness and well-being ahead of your own, to teach the hard lessons, to do the right thing even when you’re not sure what the right thing is…and to forgive yourself, over and over again, for doing everything wrong.”

―Donna Ball, At Home on Ladybug Farm

Well, this starts us off pretty strong, doesn’t it?  I cannot pull together a more perfect synopsis of motherhood.  Thank you, mom, for every sacrifice.  Thank you for the tough love when we needed it, and for always putting us first.

“Mothers were the only ones you could depend on to tell the whole, unvarnished truth.”

―Margaret Dilloway, How to Be an American Housewife

This includes whether or not those jeans really are too tight.  Thanks, mom, for keeping it real.

“All that I am or ever hope to be, I owe to my angel mother.” —Abraham Lincoln

Thank you, mom, for my work ethic, determination, and drive.  Thank you for standing up for yourself and being independent.  You showed me that it’s OK to go against the grain, and to choose what’s right for my family no matter what anyone else says.

“Kids don’t stay with you if you do it right. It’s the one job where, the better you are, the more surely you won’t be needed in the long run.” —Barbara Kingsolver

You did a great job, but there will always be times when I need my mom.

“There’s no way to be a perfect mother and a million ways to be a good one.” —Jill Churchill

This is heartening to read when you feel like you are doing everything wrong!

“Everybody wants to save the Earth; nobody wants to help Mom do the dishes.” —P.J. O’Rourke

Sorry, mom, for all those times I didn’t help 🙁

The moment a child is born, the mother is also born. She never existed before. The woman existed, but the mother, never. A mother is something absolutely new. ~Rajneesh

We are learning together, Belle and I.  As a child you look at your mom like that was all she ever was, but it’s not until a tiny human being rocks your world that you realize how much you changed hers.

She never quite leaves her children at home, even when she doesn’t take them along. ~Margaret Culkin Banning

At the grocery store the other day, I could have sworn I heard my daughter’s baby monitor.  Like three different times.

When you are a mother, you are never really alone in your thoughts. A mother always has to think twice, once for herself and once for her child. ~Sophia Loren, Women and Beauty

This explains why I am always mentally exhausted.  It also might explain mom brain!

There is an instinct in a woman to love most her own child — and an instinct to make any child who needs her love, her own. ~Robert Brault,

Could there be a more perfect TeacherMom quote?  I am sure every teacher has felt this pull towards one or two students (or more…) throughout her career.   Kids remember how you made them feel, and sometimes that motherly care is all they need from you.  I read another quote somewhere that said, “children who are loved at home come to school to learn, children who aren’t come to school to be loved.”

Sometimes, we are mothers to a lot more children than we gave birth to.  So for those who are moms at home AND at school,

Happy Mother’s Day