Honoring Mother’s Every Day

As an adult, I will forever remember my mother as a strong black woman, educator, mentor and friend. Shirley Dixon holds this title not because she birthed me into existent but because she went a step further and honored me by actually pushing me into womanhood. If not for her persistence in raising a little girl to be a strong woman, I may have never excelled as I have. The time once existed when I felt that I could never get past the hard times that we endured as a family. I know now that, had it not been for each obstacle that we overcame; our futures may have not been as grand as they currently exist.

I believe that Mother’s Day should not be the only day in which we honor the women who endured the pangs of labor and hardships of motherhood. It is my opinion that Mother’s Day should serve as a reminder that we should be eternally grateful on a daily basis. Whether we come from broken families or homes where our Mother didn’t exactly make the headlines with us; we are all blessed to have a chance to do it better than they might have. Know that excellence is not a given but something that comes with time and experience.

Motherhood does not begin and end, once the child has emerged. True motherhood exists within the motivated mouth that encourages, the sometimes overwhelming barriers that mother’s climbâÂ?¦clearing the path for those who look to them for guidance and protection and the everlasting womb that houses our past and present. At current, I carry my mom in my womb; because I learned what it was to be a woman and have never forgotten the lessons my mother taught me. On a daily basis, I give birth to those things which paint the portrait of a woman.

If you were neglected, unnecessarily chastised, abandoned or whatever the case may be; your past exists as one of the greatest lessons learned. From the past, we pull the essence of our future. Those things that lay behind us should be the stepping stones to something greater. It is up to us to learn from those things that presented a challenge in our pasts and allow them to be the fuel that ignites our future.

I honor my mother for putting her foot down and keeping me in line, whether I felt it was warranted or not. I honor my mother for sometimes making the wrong decision so that I could learn the right one. I honor my mother for raising a God-fearing womanâÂ?¦educated, gifted and motivated. I honor my mother for recognizing the need to set friendship aside long enough to raise a respectable young lady. Our visions were not always the same but they both encompassed the overall goal for me to recognize my worth and ensure that others respected that as it existed and currently exists. I give flowers to the woman who is not just honored on Mother’s Day but each new day to come.

For me, Mother’s Day serves as a reminder that there was once a woman who accepted the challenge.