To My Mom-Friends on Mother's Day

Every year on this day for the last 4 years, I and others have celebrated my being a mother. I vividly remember driving back to Fort Worth from a baby shower in Birmingham and being kicked by the sweetest, tiniest little bean growing in my womb. It was the beginning of a very sweet and trying journey.

Today, as I have 3.5 years and two children under my motherhood belt, I feel the need to celebrate Mother's Day a little differently, a little less me-focused. Sure, I still kicked my family out of the house enjoyed some alone time at home, showering and singing Adele. And, yeah, I also enjoyed an amazing pedicure with a glass of champagne. But something about this Mother's Day struck me with a different sense of gratitude.

This year, more than any other, I am thankful for the moms who walk alongside me on this journey of boo-boos and dirty diapers. I am thankful for the current examples I have of loving mothers. It's easy to forget or distort the lessons of childhood. We tend to either glorify or vilify the mother we grew up with and I need examples and ideas now from those walking my current life-stage. At the very least, I need help from the moms one or two steps ahead of me.

My mom taught me a boatload of things, that is for sure, and I glean from the lessons told by veteran moms. But life is a lot different now than it was 28 years ago. We have more education options, more recipes to pin (and never cook), and WAY MORE social media to remind me of how miserably I am failing at this whole #childhoodunplugged movement.

So to my mom friends, thank you. Thank you for fighting with me against Helicopter Mom ideals. Thank you for giving me the universal look for "You got this" when my child is flying off the handle and I'm about to go with them. Thank you for being real and never letting on that we don't share the same insecurities and fears. Thank you for holding a sturdy arm out in front of me and pulling me up when I've been knocked down or for allowing me space to be in a funk.

Today as my love-tank is filled with homemade crafts and massage gift cards (holla), I feel grateful. Grateful for the mom who gave me life, for the children who call me "Mom," and for fellow-moms walking along this path with me. This motherhood thing is H A R D and I'm thankful to go at it with you at my side.

May the mothers who come after us, follow the trail of sisterhood that we are so lovingly blazing for them