This Sunday, people near and far will be spending time with or thinking of their Mothers. On a personal note, I just returned home from visiting my mother in Vermont. In the 96^th year of her life, I could not be lulled into complacency or fooled by the seeming ordinary passing of the few short days we spent together.

 Immersed in heightened awareness of this precious opportunity to be with my mom, I was struck by her fading engagement with this world.  Mom’s inability to hear diminished the quality of  conversation as well as the overcompensation of the TV volume turned up extra loud. The lack of sound versus extreme sound created barriers to communication that seemed strangely ironic.

 Oh, the tender ache of Love’s domain.  The uncommon depth that encompasses relationships intertwined in the unfolding mystery of our lives. My mind naturally gravitates towards sweet imaginings of the ideal, yet the complexity of life, of being human and of loving imperfectly demands so much more of us.

 Regardless, being in the presence of my mom held an unspoken preciousness. Beyond the world of sound, caring gestures filled in the void. Understated actions that signaled a deep down love sealed in the bonds of mutual affection.

 The bittersweet passage of time magnifies the fragility of our earthly lives and our perceived losses. Besides those who will be celebrating the joys of motherhood, my thoughts are with cherished friends who have lost their mom’s, and of all mothers who suffer from illness, the isolation of loneliness, or dementia.  

 May we recognize the ageless manifestation of our Mother’s Love in the voices, hands and hearts of those who show up for us. For a Mother’s love is unending and is revealed in the most unexpected and surprising ways.

Blessings to all the dear sweet women and men who birth Love in our world.

 ~liz Sorensen Wessel

 phot0 by ~liz