How is it possible to capture a heart even before you first meet her? How is it possible that the idea of you, from the moment she knew, set her whole life on fire? Her heart was given freely to you, unconditionally, to do as you will with it. She has you for her lifetime, she is your lifeline through much of life’s ups and downs, twists and turns. Her blood and bones, skin and sinew made you, created you, perfected you. Her spirit, mind and body enveloped you, embraced you. Near or far, she has a way of caressing your soul without words. She is your port in every storm, your harbour to safely anchor when things go wrong.

She is the first call when life grants you all its myriad blessings, the one who walks alongside you in every joy. She is the one to forgive your trespasses, and the one to hold you at night when it seems your heart just can never be mended. She is the strength when you are weak, her hands keep you warm. Her face brightens up your darkest night. Her smile is the sunshine that lights up your life. She is your surety and security through all walks of life.

Her whole life is a promise dedicated to your wellbeing and safety. Hers is the love and trust that sets your compass all through life. Hers is the first relationship you’ll ever have and the one you’ll always need. Her beating heart tells you tales inexplicable, unquestionable. Her breath infuses your life, with a meaning only you understand. Her eyes speak a million truths, like bright stars in a pale milky galaxy. Her words evoke emotions like springs in some barren desert. Her scars tell stories of days remembered and forgotten.

All the years she has lived, she planted roots and a foundation to make it that much easier for you. She braced the wind on her back, trying to knock her down from time to time, only so that she could shelter you from it. She worked so that you could rest on the comforts she provided. She toiled so that you could delight. She struggled so that you could have it all. All her knowing, all her wisdom was softly wrapped in warm and fuzzy layers around you. She had a spine so you could be stronger and braver than you will ever knew and so that even at your most vulnerable, you would still stand tall. Hers is a life of perfection amidst the debris of hopes and dreams she sacrificed in the name of motherhood.

My mother taught me things never learnt in textbooks or schoolrooms. She taught me strength at my weakest. She spoke of humility at my strongest. She spoke of kindness and compassion and applauded toughness and boldness. She taught me peace when going to war and how to battle when wronged. She taught me the merits of work and rest and how to gain a balance between them. She made the stairway so I could climb to the top, to view the world dressed in success. She counted both my success and failures, so that life’s challenges never threw me off course. She saved her wealth so that I could have mine. And… who knew behind such a sweet face dwelled the soul of a spy!  Near or far, she watched my every move… she counted each step, she knew my every secret, she knew my soul.

My mother was unique and so’s yours. They were different women sharing the same fierce essence of motherhood. A mother is a mother, no matter what, where and who she chooses to be – all fierce lionesses to their cubs! An angel to behold and a devil to boot! Ruffle her feathers and she will shoot! When your day is a museum of disappointments hanging from events outside your control, it’s mom who steps up and steps in to make the ride a little less bumpy. Along the way, her guidance and protection soften the sharp edges of weary struggles… when fevered brows are cooled with soft words, and tender kisses even pain-ridden nights, and long hours of darkness float on by quicker.

Her smiles and her tears are the badges you wear, sometimes a privilege and sometimes a dishonour for all the times you rejoiced or regretted your decisions and your choices. And no matter what, she stands by you through it all. Hers are the echoes you hear in the deepest realms of your mind. Hers is the soul that speaks to you without words. That picture of her on your nightstand frames the first shot of love you ever felt, and on cue, you see the first line of a song fly by!  In the hours floating between sleep and the dawn waiting to be welcomed, hers will be the presence you feel warmly wrapped around you, forevermore.

To this extraordinary creation everywhere, Happy Mother’s Day!