I ran across this blog post by Amy Young of The Messy Middle earlier this week (You can read the entire blog post here. ) and it really got me thinking about the women in my family tree. As I read through the post I realized that each woman listed there probably resides somewhere, in some generation, on some branch of my family tree. I know some of their stories, but not all. I know stories of women on our family who were strong towers and stories of those who struggled. I've watched them celebrate new life and mourn the passing of life. Research tells me that some were married with children, some were married without children, and some remained single throughout their lives. There are stories of great loss and stories of grand celebrations. No two are alike. I love that working through genealogy has given me the chance to get to know each of them.
Mother's Day evokes many different emotions for all of us. In our family, this Mother's Day, we are celebrating new life as we get ready to welcome our first grandchild to the family and at the same time we grieve the loss of my mom this past year.
Here's the part of Amy's post that stirred my heart this week:
To those who gave birth this year to their first child—we celebrate with you
Mother's Day evokes many different emotions for all of us. In our family, this Mother's Day, we are celebrating new life as we get ready to welcome our first grandchild to the family and at the same time we grieve the loss of my mom this past year.
Here's the part of Amy's post that stirred my heart this week:
To those who gave birth this year to their first child—we celebrate with you
To those who lost a child this year – we mourn with you
To those who are in the trenches with little ones every day and wear the badge of food stains – we appreciate you
To those who experienced loss through miscarriage, failed adoptions, or running away—we mourn with you
To those who walk the hard path of infertility, fraught with pokes, prods, tears, and disappointment – we walk with you. Forgive us when we say foolish things. We don’t mean to make this harder than it is.
To those who are foster moms, mentor moms, and spiritual moms – we need you
To those who have warm and close relationships with your children – we celebrate with you
To those who have disappointment, heart ache, and distance with your children – we sit with you
To those who lost their mothers this year – we grieve with you
To those who experienced abuse at the hands of your own mother – we acknowledge your experience
To those who lived through driving tests, medical tests, and the overall testing of motherhood – we are better for having you in our midst
To those who have aborted children – we remember them and you on this day
To those who are single and long to be married and mothering your own children – we mourn that life has not turned out the way you longed for it to be
To those who step-parent – we walk with you on these complex paths
To those who envisioned lavishing love on grandchildren -yet that dream is not to be, we grieve with you
To those who will have emptier nests in the upcoming year – we grieve and rejoice with you
And to those who are pregnant with new life, both expected and surprising –we anticipate with you
This Mother’s Day, we walk with you. Mothering is not for the faint of heart and we have real warriors in our midst. We remember you.
Our journeys are different, our families might get messy, but, indeed, there are real warriors in our midst!
Our journeys are different, our families might get messy, but, indeed, there are real warriors in our midst!
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| Remembering Mom today! Eucebia Jane Thomas Abbate 1937-2012 |
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| Celebrating new life today! Precious grandchild due September 2013. |
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