Thank you, Mothers.

Mothers. Oh, Mothers.

Had I known what it takes to be one of you I would have bowed down each time I met a member of your incredible tribe.

They say motherhood changes you, which may be the biggest understatement on record.

You are not changed by motherhood, you are utterly transformed. Stripped of who you were (What the hell did you do with all that free time you used to have?), thrown into the fire, melted down to your core and built up again into someone you don't recognize.

Someone who can do 13 things at once on 3 1/2 hours sleep. Someone who can show love and care and tenderness while utterly confused as to who they now are. Someone who's heart has never been so wide open and is managing the biggest vulnerability hangover of their lives. Someone who adores their child and would kill for 20 minutes when she's not being sucked on or clung to.

I've been a mother for 13 weeks and 5 days now. Long enough to know that life will never be the same. Long enough to be humbled over and over again by what mothers do on the daily to keep their children alive and themselves relatively sane. Long enough to thank gawd for the women and mothers who've come before me to light the way with their knowledge and love and to remind me that THIS, this resilience, this learning, this struggle, this joy, this courage, this wide-open love, THIS is what life is all about.

On this day of the Mother, THANK YOU dearest mothers. Thank you for your guidance. Thank you for your understanding and knowing looks. And thank you for letting me into your tribe. I was a reluctant joiner. Thank you for saving a place for me.

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