A Mother’s Love

This is a picture of my mother, taken when she was about 10 years younger than I am right now.

My mother is magical. Everyone who meets her loves her, but particularly children. She seems to to always understand and connect to children effortlessly. She was the only person that my Aspie-son would allow to cuddle with him when he was a baby. He would sink against her chest as she rocked and sang to him.

It was my mother who taught me that the basis of being a mother was a deep, authentic love. I learned the most powerful part of being a mother from my mother. I learned to love from my mother.

My mother made mistakes but I have always known she loves me. She loves me, not because of what I can do for her or because I am fulfilling my potential. She loves me because I exists. She loves me because I am her daughter. Her love has always been unconditional.

Her love has always been strong. Strong enough to give me space to learn, even while she watched nervously. Her love has been strong enough to look beyond my mistakes to show me that I am intrinsically valuable.  Her love has been strong enough to grow and change. My mother has continued to learn and grow as a person and encouraged me to do the same.

Being a mother is a challenging adventure. This is particularly true when raising an atypical child.  However, whether you are raising a typical child or a child on the spectrum, being a mother requires a strong and authentic love. Happy Mother’s Day to my mother and to all the mothers!