"Are you a mother?"
A simple, well-intentioned question so that this stranger could wish me a Happy Mother's Day if I answered in the affirmative. Yet, those four words struck a chord in me that I had been tirelessly working for months to silence.
"No, I'm not." Through the most genuine smile I could muster I offered, "but Happy Mother's Day to you! Have a wonderful day!" As she caught her rambunctious child's arm and led him out of my classroom with a look on her face that half-pleaded to leave him, my heart longed to be in her place.
When I was still in my single-digit years people frequently asked what I wanted be when I grew up. I'm sure you can identify. My grandma would throw out lofty goals like doctor, scientist who discovers the cure for cancer, best-selling author. You know, the things people suggest when they're trying to teach you how to dream the biggest dreams you can conjure - when they're trying to teach you how to fly. Except that sometimes this leaves you flightless instead.
"A mom," I would firmly respond.
A simple, well-intentioned question so that this stranger could wish me a Happy Mother's Day if I answered in the affirmative. Yet, those four words struck a chord in me that I had been tirelessly working for months to silence.
"No, I'm not." Through the most genuine smile I could muster I offered, "but Happy Mother's Day to you! Have a wonderful day!" As she caught her rambunctious child's arm and led him out of my classroom with a look on her face that half-pleaded to leave him, my heart longed to be in her place.
When I was still in my single-digit years people frequently asked what I wanted be when I grew up. I'm sure you can identify. My grandma would throw out lofty goals like doctor, scientist who discovers the cure for cancer, best-selling author. You know, the things people suggest when they're trying to teach you how to dream the biggest dreams you can conjure - when they're trying to teach you how to fly. Except that sometimes this leaves you flightless instead.
"A mom," I would firmly respond.
