Becoming A Grandfather Changed My Perspective About Mothers
A few years ago, I gained a whole new perspective on motherhood. For my entire life, I’ve been the son of a mom. For a little more than half my life, I’ve been the husband of a mom. But, now I am the father of a mom. It’s the best perspective yet.
I was too young to appreciate all my mother did. She was a stay-at-home mom for my three sisters and me. Mom made dinner every night and breakfast every morning. There was no way I could truly grasp all the work and energy involved in that. She did it every single day. And these were home-cooked meals.
She also fearlessly gave me the freedom to explore. We lived near Friendship Airport (now BWI Thurgood Marshall), and Mom let me ride my bike to the airport so I could watch the planes take off and land. No helmet on a main road. Sure, it was a different time, but Mom knew risk was involved and she still gave me permission.
Eventually, I got married and my wife, Ava, became a mother. We had six children, with the first five arriving in seven years. This was a crazy season of life. At times, it felt like we were just barely keeping our head above water. Well, at least I felt that way. As a result, I think I missed how much Ava loved being the mom to a bunch of little kids.
She poured her life and energy into them. She even started a school so they could be home-schooled classically. I know. That’s a bit of an oxymoron… a school for home-schooled kids? They were in school for two days each week and home the other three. She misses those days.
And then, a few years ago, I gained the best perspective yet on motherhood. My daughter, Grace, joined the sorority. She has two young kids named Judah and Josephyne (we call her Joey). I have the life experience now to understand how hard she works at being a mom, with the distance to not feel overwhelmed by it.
As much as I love being around my grandkids, watching Grace with them is even better. And, best of all… being the dad of a mother is helping to grow my appreciation for all that my mom and wife did during those seasons when I did not have the capacity to fully understand it.
Moms rock! I understand that more now then ever.
