Happy Mother's Day

By Elia Rocha

Did you see newly named MVP Kevin Durant’s touching acceptance speech where he honored his mother for her support and sacrifice?  He called her the real MVP and tearfully described her tenacity to provide for him and his brothers and move their family ahead. I can picture in my mind’s eye, some twenty years down the line, a young man or woman who was enrolled at Children Today making a similar speech.  I imagine they would say thank you for so many things, countless things.  

Maternal Kiss (1896) by Mary Cassatt {{PD-1923}}

They would say thank you for enduring so much to keep us together.  

Thank you for taking three different buses to get me and my brothers and sisters to our various schools and appointments, day in and day out. 

Thank you for asking for help, even though it may have felt humiliating, to make sure we had the basics we needed to get by.  

Thank you for working hard and showing me what hard work is. 

Thank you for loving me and being proud of me, especially when it seemed like you were the only one who saw something special in me. 

Thank you for showing me how to overcome the bad things that sometimes happen.  

Thank you for giving me roots, even when we didn't have a place to call home.  

Thank you for showing me that home is wherever you are. 

Happy Mother’s Day to all the mothers we've been privileged to know, who embody the tenets of love, strength, and perseverance, and who hold the heart of their family.