Our Collective Children

Mother’s Day is around the corner and for most, it will be unlike any we have experienced before. Some of us will have a full nest with students who have returned home jarring our well-oiled routines, others will feel a deep sense of loneliness because of the inability to spend time with offspring or parents.

Regardless of how this day unfolds, I find that as it approaches, I always reflect about what motherhood means to me – what I learned from my mother and how it impacted the way I lead my life. And, how I show up for my children who now have children of their own.

Like many of you in these challenging times, I have reconnected with friends of decades ago and learned about their journeys. I am especially grateful for the young women, my “other” daughters, who have touched base to remind me of ways that I have influenced their lives. These calls support what I have always known, our biological children are not the only ones that we shape. We are responsible for the ripple effect of our actions to each of our collective children.

The June Cleaver qualities of motherhood are often described as patience, forgiveness, calmness, kindness, unconditional love, consistency and determination. Mothers are our moral compass, setting boundaries and reminding us to do our best. They move us forward showing us that imperfect action and failure is better than no action. They provide survival skills and fiercely protect us as cubs.

Mothers may not be biological mothers. The pandemic has reminded us that these qualities are not exclusive to motherhood but rather are the best version of each of us. We have shown that we are willing to come together as a global community and chance failing with imperfect action as we seek solutions for humanity. Our patience has been tested and there are days it has been difficult to remain calm but, we have shown up with kindness, love and appreciation for those who are fiercely protecting our families and our communities.

Often, getting back to the basics reminds us of a happier time as a child before the rough and tumble days of the corporate trenches. Some of us have had the good fortune to once again see the world through a child’s eyes as we tried to imagine fun activities in cloistered spaces. Other’s have reached for paintbrushes and musical instruments or found our voices again as we revealed our soul’s deepest desires through pens and journals.

And, in the dark of the night, there are those of us that have truly been brought to our knees with debilitating illnesses, the loss of loved ones or, what little financial security we held onto tightly vanishing with lost jobs. Through broken hearts, we have found faith and the knowledge that all will be well again as we used our survival skills with grace and dignity.

The nurturing qualities in each of us fundamentally understands that we must be responsible for all our collective children - for we, and they, were each a blank page once with an unscripted future ahead. The uncertainty is still there, the future is still unknown. Though these unseen faces may not know us personally, they trust that we will be fierce advocates for better days ahead for all, looking to us for compassion and understanding, for laughter and support.

As we prepare to leave the nest, my prayer is that each of us will hold a candle to these special qualities, shining them at home, at our offices, in our communities and out to the world. Happy Mother’s Day my friends!

LINDA LATTIMORE

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Our Collective Children