Mama, You Are So Brave

This week I have been bowled over by the simple bravery it takes to be a mother.The bravery to drop off your child at a daycare or a school and trust that they will be safe. The bravery to encourage those first tottering steps when you know that falling is inevitable. When you know the walking will take them away from you and eventually into their own separate lives. The bravery to restrain a kicking and screaming toddler in the grocery store checkout line. The bravery to carry life in your belly, not knowing who that person will be or how their life will turn out. The bravery to stay calm when your baby comes to you bleeding, literally or figuratively. The bravery to get up every morning and do it all over again.This bravery, I think, is far too often unmentioned.[Tweet "What courage it takes just to do what we do."]So this week, tell your mama friends you think they are brave, even when they aren’t doing anything extraordinary. And also when they are.When you see a stranger mama who looks like she needs a kind word, tell her she’s amazing.Tell yourself, even if you are having a hard day, “This is brave work I’m doing."Because mama, you are so brave.