About a year ago, I saw a woman wearing a shirt that read ‘Strong As A Mother’ and I immediately wanted one. For a brief moment, I believed that I had to be stronger before I could confidently wear one. Fortunately, I quickly realized that I’m already strong just as I am and I should get the shirt and wear it proudly.
Strength extends beyond mere physical power. When I was growing up, the strongest woman I knew never lifted a kettlebell or did a single push-up.
My mom was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis when I was five years old, though she’d been living with it for years before that. Her body was attacking itself and there was no way to stop it. Her doctor told her to expect her symptoms to progress rapidly and indeed they did. She struggled with fatigue and muscle weakness. She struggled with balance and had difficulty walking. And understandably, she was often faced with depression, frustration, and grief. She could no longer trust her own body; it was betraying her. Instead of a partnership between mind and body, hers was a battle.
At the same time, she was a young woman and a mother of two small children and was determined to keep going as long as she could. And because she did, I got to spend twenty-four years witnessing the strength of a mother. Her resilience. Her adaptability. Her perseverance. She was an inspiration to me and to countless others. When she passed away in 2004, I was approached by people I’d never met. One after another, they came up to tell me that my mom had reached them in ways that no one else could. She knew what it was like to struggle, to want to give up, yet find the strength to keep going anyway. To hope. They watched her and felt encouraged to keep going.
Sadly she didn’t see herself as being strong. She had an idea of what ‘strong’ should look like and didn’t see the resemblance in herself, but I saw it. And I continue to see strength all around me. Sometimes strength is simply showing up. There are times where it means doing a little more than you think you can. Then there are times where it means acknowledging that you’ve done all you can.
You don’t have to be battling disease in order to exhibit strength, just as you don’t have to be able to lift a car to demonstrate strength. And you certainly don’t have to be a mother to be Strong as a Mother. We’re all fighting our own battles, facing obstacles and doing the best we can. We often move from one day to the next without stopping to acknowledge what we’ve done. So, I encourage you to take a few moments now to celebrate yourself and to celebrate someone else for being Strong as a Mother.
If you’ve done something you didn’t think you could do, you’re strong as a mother.
If you love someone unconditionally, you’re strong as a mother.
If you’ve let others see you struggle.
If you’ve persisted.
If you’ve adapted.
You’re strong as a mother.
If you’re trying something new, you’re strong as a mother.
If you’ve cared for someone else.
If you sometimes put yourself first.
You’re strong as a mother.
If you’ve offered emotional support.
If you’ve asked for help.
If you’ve stood up for yourself.
If you’ve stood up for someone else.
You’re strong as a mother.
If you show compassion to others, you’re strong as a mother.
If you show compassion to yourself, you’re strong as a mother.
If you’ve kept going when you didn’t think you could, you’re strong as a mother.
You are incredibly strong, stronger than you realize, and you’re doing amazing things.
