Mother's Love

Mother's Love. What is Mother's love? To me, when a mother can shed a tear for other children who are not her children, that's mother's love. When news about a baby suffering, a nation under catastrophe, or a teenager misguided stabs your heart...that's mother's love.

A friend of mine just recently stated on her Facebook status that her eyes teared when she overheard her son having a conversation with his great-grandmother. He didn't know his mother was listening and the exchange he was having with his great-grandmother must have been so sweet or so powerful that it made my friend cry with what I can assume was pride. Someone commented "Mother's love" after her post.

This morning I watched yesterday's Oprah on the new movie "Waiting for Superman". I have been thinking about it all day because I was crying my eyes out when I was watching snippets of the movie, a controversial movie about our nation's education system, that comes out this Friday in NYC and L.A. I cried watching how one little girl wasn't allowed to graduate on stage because her mother was behind on school payments. I learned that her mother was working several jobs to pay for a private school because her neighborhood schools are so bad and yet she couldn't give her daughter the gift of walking on stage...that proud moment was taken away from both of them.

Today, Diego went off to his amazing preschool, had a fun playdate with his friend Jake, went to swimming class and is blissfully taking a nap while I write. I get emotional and I feel gratitude, that I can personally witness this everyday. I never take it for granted that everytime he expresses a joy for learning, when his little brain clicks with new knowledge and his face lights up, that we are giving him the biggest gift of all-education. There is nothing more that I value and when I think about going back to work because I feel like I am not contributing to the educational system, to my household income, or to myself, I see how lucky I am and that one day, when I go back, I will be a better teacher because I am a mother to this child first.

The chancellor of D.C. schools, Michelle Rhee, is portrayed in the movie "Waiting for Superman" as a villain for being so harsh (she fired her own kids' school principal!) and for fighting the unions on and off again. She couldn't have stated better on Oprah today that she does her job well everyday because she is a mother first. She will not allow for other mother's children to have to endure poor quality education if she wouldn't allow it for her own children. People fight the chancellor everyday and this woman never gives up.

There are thousands and thousands of great teachers out there who are not moms and there are poor teachers who are mothers. My point here is that today as I read my friend Perla's Facebook update, for me, my whole day connected. Watching Diego, listening to other moms throughout the day, that Oprah episode, made me realize that a mother's love goes a long, long way whether you are a stay-at-home-mom or a working mom. What a woman will do for her children or for other women's children is remarkable. I applaud women like Perla who have taught their children invaluable lessons and women like Michelle Rhee who fight for other women's children. Oprah! Oprah doesn't even have children and with her all mighty power is bringing light to a very important issue, our children and education. I can't wait to see what happens after "Waiting for Superman" is released! Make sure to check it out!

xoxo