Mothers of the Universe
by Joan Brady

There are ways of being a mother that people don’t often talk about or acknowledge, yet those who are aware in this regard are ready to make unique contributions to shape the lives of children. There are no special days set aside on the calendar for them. “But,” says Joan, “we know who we are.”

“We are the confidantes and the non judgmental, wiser friends of children. We are their relatives or their mother’s best friend or someone who is simply around a lot in their young lives. They talk to us. And we listen to them. They have nothing to lose by revealing their innermost feelings to us. There is little or nothing they feel they have to hide from us. They trust us and they know without a doubt that they have nothing to fear because we have no need (and often no right) to be involved in disciplining them or in any number of other parental responsibilities.”

“We are the unsung mothers of the world. We are the teachers who take the time to show children how wonderful and special they are. We are the nurses who nurture them and tend to them, the grocery store clerks who patiently teach them to make change, the police officers who protect them and make them feel safe in the dangerous world. We are the waitresses who indulge them and make them feel important, no matter how tired our feet are.”

“We are the activists who fight for children’s rights, the stranger who helps them cross the street safely, and the social workers who love them and help them to find their way in a frightening and unfair world. We are the career-oriented professionals who stop and let them pet our dogs, the athletic coaches who give them an enticing glimpse of their potential, and the kindly adults who take their hand when they are lost in a shopping mall and help them find their mommy again.”

“We are the ballet teachers who make them feel free and beautiful, and we are the roller-skating adult who picks them up when they fall off their bicycle and comforts them until their frantic parents arrive.”

“We are the people who help a young mother as she struggles to push her baby’s stroller through a department store door, and we are the busy executives who jingle our car keys and smile at the cranky little urchin perched upon his mother’s shoulder in front of us in the checkout line at the supermarket. We are the ones the mother never even notices as we silently entertain her baby behind her and possibly witness his first smile. But we are not terribly concerned with any particular baby’s first smile, first step, or first word, because we know that every smile, every step, and every word in any baby’s life is important, and we treat them all with an equal reverence.”

“We are the role models and idealists who support and believe in children’s dreams because we support and believe in our own dreams. We are the creators of hope and love for them, and we give birth to the potential of all children.”

At a Round Table Chat event with Joan Brady on May 6th we celebrated a special Mother’s Day for all the unsung mothers of the world.