Dear Mom of Three in the Post Office:

I stood transfixed while we waited in line, watching as your adorably cute toddler wiggled around the room, picking up and dropping the letters you had given her to hold.

“How old is she?” I asked. You turned and gave me a half smile and replied, “20 months.”

Your oldest girl rolled around on the floor around your legs, while your son managed to touch probably every single manila  envelope and cardboard box in the cubbies next to us, even after you told him to stop three times.

I couldn’t help watching, but not because of your kids – because of you.

You had every reason to lose your temper. You were clearly worn out, and your kids had enough energy to rival a crowd of Super Bowl fans. But your patient, firm yet gentle responses were unparalleled. To remain calm and kind in the presence of kids who were, honestly, just being kids, is a rare and praiseworthy quality. I’m sure you can think of a hundred other times when you weren’t so patient, but I will never forget your quiet exchange with your children in that tiny post office. You handled yourself with so much grace, and I wish I had gotten the chance to tell you in person. You’re a warrior, and someday your crazy monster children will grow up and realize how incredibly brilliant you are and how unbelievably lucky they are.

I hope I parent the way you did today. Happy Mother’s Day, Post Office Mom.

Love, A Former Monster Child

This letter was originally posted on Facebook a year ago, but it deserves to be shared again.

Happy Mother’s Day to my own mom, Dayna,  my mom-in-law, Sue, and my grandmas, Ann, Mignonne, Mary, Alice, and Lela, as well as all the other moms and grandmas in my life who have loved me as one of their own. Happy Mother’s Day to the moms-to-be, to the brand new moms, to the worn out moms, to the moms whose kids live far away, to the woman who’s waiting to be a mom, to the mom who’s grieving the children she’s lost, to the woman with no physical children but HOARDES of spiritual children, to the mom who had to cook her own Mother’s Day lunch – you are so, so loved. You are not alone. Christ is holding you tightly, and you are cherished beyond belief.