For over 250,000 generations humans have been on this earth.  In every generation there has been a mother who has given birth and, often times, a mother who has looked after a child, whether adopted or her own birth child.

The mothers who have come in the time before us are members of our sisterhood.  Most have endured, just as we do, sleepless nights, numerous feedings, sore nipples, childbirth, the list goes on.

And, those mothers before us have also struggled with discipline, keeping a child safe, passing on traditions, acculturation, watching their children become parents, just as we do today.  It is our nature as humans.

To the mothers of today: It doesn’t matter if you personally have had a good mother or a not so good mother.  This force, this building block, this world tree of all the mothers that have come before us has catapulted us and gave us life.

It has made it possible for us to be the humans we are today, mothers who are taking care of our children. Today.

We are a part of something GREATER.

I think, we mothers can all attest that our jobs are rewarding, yes, but not easy.

Returning recently to the new mom trenches to take care of my now 9 week old has reminded me of how difficult it is to take care of a newborn.

There are the constant feedings, the burping, the rocking to sleep, the wardrobe changes, the clean ups, the diaper changes, etc.  I often found myself stopping to think, “Someone did this for me. Someone really did this for me?  Wow. “ And, I get overwhelmed with the thought.

I have pictured in my head my own mother being similar to my age and taking care of the little baby that was me.  The cuddles and kisses paired with all of the sleepless nights.

Someone did this for me.

I have never appreciated my mom more than I do now after being on the other side. (Thank you so much, Mom. I know you’re reading.)

And, when I think deeper, every one of us was taken care of by another human to make it to where we are today.

Someone did this for us.  

And, that’s where I began to think beyond the generations before me in just my own family and to the generations of humans from the beginning of our time on the planet.  It blows my mind.

If we let our minds run wild, we realize how MAGNIFICENT of a thing it is that we are doing, raising children of the human race.  And, how much we, as humans, rely on each other to survive, which takes me back to today…

Today, to the mom who asked if I needed help in the local super mart as I was juggling the things I bought and reloading them in larger bags, so I could carry them and look after my daughters.  She said, “Do you need help?  I know what it’s like.  I’ve had four kids!”

Or, to the women in my local mothers group who cooked meals for me every other day for over a month after I brought my baby home.  These moms understood that I wouldn’t have the time or energy to cook.

We’re all in the same club.  We get it.  We’re going through it now, or we’ve been there before.  We haven’t forgotten, and when a mother reaches a hand out to another mother to make her day even just a smidge easier, that is amazing.

It is our nature to help each other. That’s how we survive.

And, the human motherhood network is grand. We can often be found not just raising our own children, but concerned about the mothers and children around us.  And, that is profound.  It is the social net that helps keep humans surviving.

World Moms Blog has given me the unique opportunity to interact with moms from all corners of the globe through our words.  Whether it’s a post about a mother admitting a reassuring “I’ve done that before” or telling us of a different way to do something as done in her home country, or a mother talking about topics that seem taboo or difficult to talk about in normal conversation, such as pregnancy loss, alcoholism or how she felt when she found out her child had autism, we are helping each other through our words.

We are a part of something GREATER.

Thank you to all the mothers in the world who write for us, and also those who read our blog and who comment on our posts.  I enjoy raising my children with you, and my life is richer from our interactions.

And, thank you to all the mothers that have come before us in time.  For, they have made it possible for us to be here today.

Happy Mother’s Day.

What do you think? My interpretation of the “something greater” is the “world tree of all the mothers that have come before us [that] has catapulted us and gave us life” and how the current mothers on the planet help each other out. How would you interpret the “something greater”?

(And to those fathers, aunts, uncles, grandfathers, friends, etc. out there.  We know we couldn’t do it all without you, either.  And, some have taken much greater roles in child raising, too.  But today, this one is for the moms.)

This is an original World Moms Blog post by Veronica Samuels.  Veronica can be found on her Facebook Page, on Twitter @VeronicaSamuels and contributing to Jersey Moms Blog.

Photo credit to tachyondecay. This photo has a creative commons attribution license. 

Jennifer Burden

Jennifer Burden is the Founder and CEO of World Moms Network, an award winning website on global motherhood, culture, human rights and social good. World Moms Network writes from over 30 countries, has over 70 contributors and was listed by Forbes as one of the “Best 100 Websites for Women”, named a “must read” by The New York Times, and was recommended by The Times of India. She was also invited to Uganda to view UNICEF’s family health programs with Shot@Life and was previously named a “Global Influencer Fellow” and “Social Media Fellow” by the UN Foundation. Jennifer was invited to the White House twice, including as a nominated "Changemaker" for the State of the World Women Summit. She also participated in the One Campaign’s first AYA Summit on the topic of women and girl empowerment and organized and spoke on an international panel at the World Bank in Washington, DC on the importance of a universal education for all girls. Her writing has been featured by Baby Center, Huffington Post, ONE.org, the UN Foundation’s Shot@Life, and The Gates Foundation’s “Impatient Optimists.” She is currently a candidate in Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs in the Executive Masters of Public Affairs program, where she hopes to further her study of global policies affecting women and girls. Jennifer can be found on Twitter @JenniferBurden.

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