One of the great honours of my work with One Spark is having the opportunity to meet women who share their stories: every story unique and every one of them – like all of our stories – rife with joy and struggle; questions and convictions; reflection and uncertainty; moments of complete peace interspersed with moments of complete upheaval.
As Mother’s Day approaches, I’ve been thinking a lot about motherhood: about how while there are unquestionably shared experiences among
the universal sisterhood of moms, being a mom looks poignantly different and
unique in almost every home; in different communities; and in countries around
our world. When we celebrate Mother’s
Day, we celebrate our treasured relationship to a woman who gave us life and/or
nurtured our personhood, as we absolutely should. If I can speak personally, my mom has been my
model of kindness, determination and grace throughout my entire life, and one day a year
doesn’t seem like nearly enough to capture how essential her strength, wisdom, and joy have been to my life experience and my growth from baby to girlhood to womanhood.
At the same time, Mother’s Day is an opportunity to reflect
on the value of moms to our world and on the work that is done by mothers globally
to ensure the health, safety, education, growth, development, and well-being of
their kids. This brings me back to
thinking about the stories that have been courageously shared with me over the
past number of years. I think about moms
who have surrendered their right to almost all of their financial resources and entitlements
to ensure the safe exit of their children from unsafe environments. I think about how those same moms, as a
result of trading financial security for safety, lack the financial and legal
resources to advocate for their children and themselves, putting their safety
at ongoing risk...and how they fiercely advocate anyway. I think about moms
doing all they can to patch together the income necessary to afford shelter and
food, while wondering how they can afford the basics when daycare will eat the majority
of every pay cheque. I think about how those same moms will struggle – and endure - when their children need
glasses or life-saving health care that they can’t afford. I think about moms around the world that know
education is a critical cornerstone to quality of life, but live with the
knowledge that their children can’t go to school or face grave risks if they
do. I think about moms in war-ravaged areas that are focused on the mere
survival of their kids from one day to the next.
I think about these things and then I think about the moms I
know (and those I don’t) that have shown courage, resilience, strength, power, creativity,
tenacity, humour, grace, conviction, joy, fear, compassion, and a mama’s love
when dealing with these – and so many other – challenges, struggles, and
experiences. I think about those moms and I feel love, gratitude, admiration, and hope. And then I know that there
are two things we have to do:
1.
We have to continue our work to ensure no woman
– and no mom and child - have to ever
trade basic financial security for personal safety; and
2. We need to celebrate and never lose sight of all
the countless ways that we benefit from the strength and power of motherhood
and to work towards a world that understands, values, and meaningfully supports the work – both challenging and
rewarding – that falls on the shoulders of moms: work that they carry fiercely,
even when it is overwhelmingly heavy.
Moms - as you look to
the days ahead, in all of your day-to-day sacrifices, may you also know moments
of complete joy, rest that feeds your spirit, resilience to trek forward; and hearts at perfect peace.
Happy Mother’s Day.
Corrie
Executive Director, One Spark
