What Does Being a Mom Mean to YOU?

What is motherhood? What does it mean to be a mom?

These questions might be challenging to answer or maybe very simple. With Mother's Day around the corner, I've asked our local moms to answer this question in their own loving words.

This article was written by Victoria, our Relationship Management Director.

Being a "MOM" is the greatest privilege, as I have discovered by talking to so many of these super heroes ; AKA moms! Being a mom means giving birth, adopting children and raising a family. But being a mother is about so much more than that, isn't it? 

There's an immense, overwhelming and beautiful "thing” in the center of motherhood that seems near on impossible to put into words. Moms say it’s a feeling, or sense, not so much as an explanation.  Maybe that "thing" is best called unconditional love. Whatever it may be, I think it's safe to say that this beautiful unique love is deeply felt in a mother/child relationship. I believe all moms would agree; when you've felt it - you knew it. When I asked these moms "What does being a mom mean to YOU?”, the responses I received were heartwarming, outright hilarious and all the way around inspirational. I hope they bring a smile to your face like they did to mine! 

To me? It's my chance to leave my mark on the world. To nurture a child with enough tender care to create a person who will make the world a better place. To me, being a mom means learning from the mistakes my own mom made and trying to do better. It means raising the girl one day I hope to be best friends with. I want to raise a girl who knows she can do anything, because her mom never let her abide by limitations. To be a mother, means to be a lighthouse. In a world darker than the sea, to always be a safe beacon of comfort and trust. - Gabrielle

Getting up before everyone else, to get my shower, get a snuggle or a giggle before their out of bed for the day. Listening to their funny stories, car dances on the way to school. Dealing with early mood swings and emotions too. Listening to the 3-year-old be sweet most days and thinking of her siblings while at the store and they’re at school. Enjoying the precious moments that they share as siblings taking care of each other, making sure they know they're all loved. Helping them be prepared for projects and papers for school. Until it's the last moments in the day for the good night routines, the baths, the teeth brushing, hair combing and braiding, the last drinks and bottles and sometimes bedtime stories that Daddy reads to the kids in bed. The snuggles, hugs and tickles. The life lessons that come just before they pass out from exhaustion to my last moments of reclaiming my me time, only to pass out myself with contentment and smiles that today I did my best. And being grateful for the complements strangers give about how kind and gracious and polite my kids are to all. Makes my heart happy and easy to sleep until the baby wakes needing to nurse only to start it all over again the next day. But being a mom is the perfect balance of a little bit crazy, a little bit of sanity and a lot of love. - Amber

To answer your question - being a mom means unconditional love, in two words. A lengthy answer to that question ; being a mom means the world to me. My kids are my life, they make my world go around. They make me smile and they make me cry and they make me laugh and they make me super mad, but they are also my best friends. They are little individuals who are adults in their own right (and my kids are 19 & 18 now) and yet they are my little fellas. I can see the little bundles of joy I brought home in their smiles even now. To me being a mother means I have the world and they are wind beneath my wings. - Nandita

OK, now I'm crying!! My daughter is hurting deep down inside, and I don't know how to help her. But being a mom is everything from the very beginning. From being there for them when they need you and trying to say and do what is the best thing possible for your child! Unconditional love. I can't seem to say the right things to make her feel better! Thank goodness she has a friend base that is helping her better than I can! Grrrr, lol. Mama bear comes out to often!! - Deborah 

I see being a mom as an opportunity to help my daughter and son to be a better person than I am. - Becky

OK, here it is... Being a mother is a great responsibility. For me, it meant raising a strong, self-confident, intelligent woman who will continue to thrive when I’m gone. Losing my mother at a young age (17) made that very important to me. Being a mother has also shown me what it is to find the true love of my life. Spouses are great, friends and family are wonderful, but the bond between mother and child is (for me) the real meaning of a soulmate. It has also brought me my greatest joy. In 26 years, I’ve never had a moment when I didn’t love being a mother! - Arielle 

Being a mom to me means being loved unconditionally no matter what light or circumstance. It means giving my all to my children in ways I never knew I could. Being a mom means challenging times and tackling issues I never knew existed. Being a mom is sacrificing myself for whatever my kids needs and wants are. It means being exhausted and run down, but truly loving every minute. It means not always having time for myself but giving up my time to see a smile. It means battles and overcoming differences, but instilling honesty and kindness into my littles. Being a mom is an amazing feeling! It's one that comes with times of stress, but also times of pure happiness. It means the world to me and I wouldn't trade it for anything; for I know I will miss the craziness when they are no longer under my roof. Being a mom is like no other feeling and I'm honored to be called Mom. At the end of the day and after all the unknowns I wouldn't change being a mom for anything in the world. - Elizabeth 

Here is a short answer. Being a mom means putting my children’s needs before my own, loving them unconditionally, always building their self-esteem. Being a mom takes a selfless person. Being a mom is a privilege, not a burden. Cherish it ❤️!  - Stacey

Being a mother is the most special feeling in the world. It’s crying when you’re so happy you don’t what else to do. It’s putting so much love into another person, a little being you’d do anything for. The unconditional love is so meaningful, there’s no other bond like it. Being a mother is truly the most magical thing I’ve ever experienced, and I feel lucky and grateful for it. It fills up your heart so much, it feels like it’s going to burst. It is the best thing in the world, being a mom. That is the best way I can describe it . I am the happiest, being a mom! - Danielle 

How does one begin to answer the question: “What does being a mom mean to me”? When asked this question a million answers came to mind. Multiple titles/duties, unrecognized jobs, even a flood of emotions. At first, I quickly began to rattle off all of the thoughts that came to mind. Then I stopped. This deserved thought. The answer is too plentiful and deserves a thoughtful response. When I really pondered what it truly means to me, this is what came.

Mom (noun, verb, even adjective) - The anointed participation in a miracle.  Experiencing a living reflection of one’s self, seen with your own eyes, who is physically detached, yet fully connected emotionally.

Being a mom means you are left with an immeasurable new sense of hope and belief in the boundless limitations of this new life.  You will stop at nothing to help, to save, to protect this extended new part of yourself, and yet at the same time, find yourself with very little control and quite helpless to fully do so. Though possibly completely confident in your understanding of love before, this new life produces a new, different, indescribable, fearless and abounding love.  Like nothing you have ever experienced; this journey allows you to explore every profession you’ve never studied yet are determined to master – all at once, with prayer warrior being the most important of all!  You give everything and yet, never find yourself unwilling to push if necessary, to give just a little bit more.  It is, in my opinion, the closest we can ever come on this side of Heaven, to understanding God. - Shonda

We would LOVE to hear what being a mom means to YOU ~ send us your thoughts!

Attorney Nicole and her son!