Wow. I am so far behind in my blogging that I think I am first! Add to that how far behind I am in laundry, dishes, contract work and well…mom of the year I am not! In all honesty, I don’t think I would have ever fallen into this category, which is why I was very hesitant when I was asked to be a part of Walmart’s Mother of the Year blog tour. I am certainly a Mother and I certainly love and sacrifice for my children but truly I am learning as I go – what do I really know about being a Mother, much less a “Mother of the Year”?!
I have had an amazing mother in my life – my grandmother, Gladys. She was definitely the matriarch of our family, the rock we all leaned on, the voice we all clung to during dark times and the unconditional love and guidance that we all required. I could nominate my Grandma, however she passed away a few years ago and never did manage to get an email address… And really, she didn’t care for the spotlight.
So for inspiration I decided to read some of the 14,000+ entries and I am blown away by the love illustrated in the nominations and the amazing women that live in our communities. There are moms that mother the motherless, moms that are survivors from life-threatening illnesses and unimaginable grief, there are moms that work several jobs to make ends meet. There are philanthropic moms, crusader moms and advocate moms. There are military moms, doctor moms and record-breaking moms. There are moms that have positively changed the world, their communities, their friends and families. I could go on and on but truly, I am exhausted just thinking about the job that the Walmart team must do to choose the eight finalists. (Thankfully it is not me or I would be giving an award to each and every one of the nominees, which would work out to about $2 each?)
So, inspired I am! I am hereby using this post to nominate… YOU! That’s right, if you are a mother who loves her children, cares for their happiness and truly do all you are able to, at the time, in the circumstances that you are in, to help your children be healthy, happy and wise (always my prayer when I pray for my children) then you deserve recognition too. I am sure there are so many of you that deserve to be nominated for the Walmart Mom of the Year, but perhaps you are the only one who will read this post and know that it exists. Perhaps your children have moved on and don’t have the time to publicly acknowledge you for your selflessness. Perhaps the one person that would nominate you, doesn’t have access to a computer. Regardless of the reason for why you haven’t been publicly nominated, I want you to know that I care. I would nominate you if I could, because Mothers are amazing.
“Making the decision to have a child is momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body.” Elizabeth Stone
