Real Life Real Faith Mommy Matters January Issue | Page 7

And so many more “politically controversial-or-incorrect” instances cause obstacles in our relationships. Mom’s we need you to know that our lives change, we discover ourselves, we choose our own paths—or sometimes they choose us, and we need your love and support through it all. Mom’s- we love you, with all of the strength in our hearts, and then some, and there is nothing we want more than your love and acceptance (even if we’re stubborn and won’t admit it sometimes). We need to know that if everything else in our world is crumbling beneath our feet, that you will be on your pedestal (the one that every mom has in the eyes of their daughters) smiling down on us.

Mom’s we need you to know how much we love you and how much your love means to us. We need you to know that our lives will change and that we’ll become different people, and that’s okay. We need you to know we will stumble and fall to find ourselves and we need you there, every step of the way. Mom’s- we need you to know that even though life changes, mom is forever, and that will never change.

“Mom, I’m gay”

“Mom, I’m transgender”

“Mom, I’m an atheist”

“Mom, I’m a stripper”

“Mom, I’m getting an abortion”

“My mom and I don’t speak anymore”

“My mother doesn’t want me”

“She threw me out and wouldn’t look at me”

“She can’t accept me. She won’t accept me”

Why are these words ever spoken? Why do strings of words like this exist beside one another? As mothers and daughters, we have a bond like no other. We are women - one generation to another generation. We are blood - your blood is our blood. Your knowledge is our knowledge. When we started growing breasts for the first time, we went to mom. When we started our periods for the first time, we went to mom. When we started to fall in love for the first time, we went to mom. When we had sex for the first time, we went to mom. So many firsts, and mom has always been there.

No other pair on this earth can have the particular bond of mother and daughter. This bond is the most incredible glue that should never be severed.

Annelea Bootle