For My Mama Friends

Here's to you mama. Here's to the hours that nobody sees. The hours of doing it all. Nope, you're not a single mom, but most of the time you feel like it. And it's hard. Damn hard. Not everyone gets it, but some of us do even though we're not in your shoes.

Your the glue behind the scenes. You're the one that gets called when somethings not going right. You drop everything and try to fix it. Whether that's running after a part, taking someone to the next vehicle, or picking up a sick kid from school, you've got it. You're there.

You spend hours making meals, doing laundry, washing dishes, and cleaning. You make sure everyone else is taken care of before you even think about taking care of yourself. Some weeks you're not sure when your last real meal was or when you washed your hair. There's housework, yard work, school, after school, pick ups, drop offs, groceries, the list really never ends. Yet you do it, day in and day out without missing a beat.

You fix boo-boos, sew on buttons, run food to more than just your husband. You dry tears when the kids are sad. You answer the questions that if you had it your way, you wouldn't field; they'd be his. You go to sleep often by yourself only to get up and do it all again the next day.

You don't complain even though it quite frankly sucks. You hold it together when the wheels are falling off and do it with amazing grace. You show love and grace without asking anything in return. You support a crazy life and his wild ideas and make it look easy.

You have your own interests and desires. You often push those aside to be the rock that you are for everyone else. Sometimes you forget who you are. You forget how special you are. I'm here to remind you: You my sweet friend are AMAZING! You are so much stronger than you know. Your faith and love are second to none. I admire the heart and soul that you pour into your life even when you feel like you're failing and not doing it right. You show grace and compassion, dignity and strength. You make me proud of you and proud to be your friend.

Don't ever forget who you are. Yes, you are the farm wife, the lineman's wife, the coach's wife, the army wife, but you are more than just that. You're the glue. You are you, and you're pretty damn amazing. Don't lose you. I see you. I get you. You are loved.