A (Fairly Lame) Ode to Mothers

Last night at MoPS, Barie Ferguson (our awesome pastor's wife) shared this totally notable poem with us:

A (Fairly Lame) Ode to Mothers by Jen Hatmaker

An ode to the marvelous woman called "Mother"

Though not one of us is exactly like another.

From the second we're born to the minute we die

Our preferences are as limitless as stars in the sky.

We might have been perfectly gracious before

But childbirth entered us in the Mommy War.

Rather than letting everyone else be

We criticize parenting that isn't exactly like . . . me.

So once and for all let me put this to rest

None of us owns the title of "best."

Natural childbirth does not make you a hippy 

Epidurals are not just for women who want to feel trippy.

In a bathtub with a doula or in a hospital bed

We all got a baby with limbs and a head.

Nursing is great if nothing goes wrong

But some nipples turn inward and refuse to play along.

This is a choice for each mom - it's her route

So it's just A + B and everyone else can C their way out.

Schedules and timers do not make you cruel

Feeding on demand does not make you a fool.

In the nursery with a monitor or in the family bed

Every chick gets to pick where her baby lays his head.

If I see one more mom roll her eyes at "organic . . . "

"Partially hydrogenated" throws some of us into panic.

But neither judge Sonic burgers and fries

Some of us just want to enjoy food before we die.

Preschool, home school, public, or Montessori

Listen, my friends, and I'll tell you a story:

Two moms differed on favorite school trends

Their kids turned out pretty much the same. The end.

If a girl gets the title of "mom" accidentally

The worst thing we can do is treat her judgmentally.

How about some love, some help, some advice?

She needs our love and we shouldn't think twice.

Discipline through various methods will prevail

Look, we're all just trying to keep our kids out of jail.

These things are just preferences, not right or wrong

What matters more is teaching our kids to get along -

To love and to share, to speak gently and kind,

To obey so that mom won't go out of her mind.

Showing them Jesus is our common ground

Teaching them how he can always be found.

He's present in public school and Waldorf (so trendy)

He's over at Whole Food but also at Wendy's.

Jesus never cared about these sorts of things

It's our hearts that he wants and the worship we bring.

It's time for us moms to declare a truce

Regardless if we buy Capri Sun or 100 percent juice.

My way is not your way, and your way isn't mine

But both of our kids will turn out just fine.

Rather than judging and looking down our noses

Let's enjoy the common ground motherhood poses.

As believers, we all love the same good Lord

We all have children who tell us "I'm bored."

We all need more sleep that these tiny five hours

Most of us struggle to find time for a shower.

We haven't been to the bathroom alone in an age

Our mothers have all told us, "Relax, this is just a stage."

We all love our babies so much we could die

We'd take a bullet for each one without batting an eye.

Though we are different , we're in the same tribe

Motherhood requires a similar vibe-

Love and affection, sacrifice and grace

Laugher, which keeps the whole mechanism in place.

Though different, by the grace of God, I suspect:

ALL our children will rise up and call us collect.