Happy Mother’s Day to all the mamas out there!
Today I want to propose a movement; a movement in which we come together as mothers and together, begin repairing our broken world. We have that power, especially together.
Lately my own motherhood experience has felt challenging. It’s more than the day-t0-day schedule–the getting dressed, making breakfast and lunch, getting to school, doing homework and baseball and dinner and dishes and breaking up fights and reminding people to say, “excuse me” and get their elbows off the table. It’s more than the strep throat and the missing field trip permission slip.
It’s the world we’re living in today. The world where people are so divided, so angry, so full of hate.
My husband is a police officer. He is a good man, who started his career 15 years ago with the genuine desire to help people. Together, we are raising three children … three little people who will be adults in the blink of an eye. Two of them are our biological children, and our daughter is adopted. She’s African American.
I don’t think it’s any secret that people are angry at cops. National Kill a Cop Day was an actual thing this past December. Now, gang members are contracting with one another to kill cops at random. This is stressful for me as a wife, but even more so as a mother.
People have the right to be angry at cops who do abuse their power, who do target people based on the color of their skin.
But some cops – my husband, my dear brother, and lots of other good cops – are part of the solution, NOT part of the problem.
Trying to solve this problem — and the state of our society today IS a problem — with violence is not going to make the world a better place for any of us, and especially not for our children.
As mothers, we have the special, unique, powerful opportunity to teach our children, and even the children of others, how to act from a place of love.
Always choose in favor of kindness. Teach your children kindness. How? Be kind. Reach out to other mothers to offer it. If you see someone struggling, offer help. If you see a child struggling, even if he isn’t yours, help him. If you see him succeed, encourage him. Tell a child she is beautiful.
Don’t underestimate the power of these small actions, these tiny moments. One small act of kindness may make a big impact on someone’s life. They add up, they spread out, and they heal all of us.
Together, we can change the world. But only together. Let’s do it.