Mom, Mothers, and Arriving Where You Are

On mothers

“But can you really describe a person as 'love'?” asked bird.

“When we’re talking about moms,” replied bear, “can you really think of a better word?”

Thoughts while making

My mom turns 82 tomorrow.

It’s funny how we phrase that, isn’t it?

Turn: v., move in a circular direction around an axis or point; to move something so that it is in a different position in relation to its surroundings or previous position.

The definition implies agency, doesn’t it? I, you, she, we move something somewhere, which feels different than a day that arrives yearly no matter what we do or don’t do.

Trying this on: My mom *arrives* at 82 tomorrow.

It’s a place she’s never been. Yet I expect she’ll embrace it as she has all new destinations in her storied journey.

- With love and curiosity and a welcoming of what comes next.

- With strength and wisdom and the creativity that is in her cells.

My mom has taught me – and continues to teach me – the meaning of courage, of what it means to be open to change, to living a life with a poetic lens no matter how hard that can be at times.

So while the earth completes another rotation around the sun, *turning* as it were, my mom invites us all to *arrive* again and again, to reflect on the paths of our lives, the orientation of our axes (yes, that is the plural of axis), and the place we are today in relation to our guiding values of how-who-what-why. Are these aligned? Are you in alignment? If not, what can you do to turn your trajectory – even in the smallest of ways – today?

Happy Arrival Day, Mom!

📷: One Orange One with New North in black