“Our Mothers … no one angers us more. No one inspires us more. No one saddens us more. No one brings us more joy. No one loves us more. Our Mothers are our Infinite Everything; without them, there is no life … no meaning.”
— Richard Bliss Brooke
Aileen Brooke gave me life and then proceeded to torture and inspire me for the next 65 years. She was an extraordinary one-of-a-kind.
My father remarried when I was in my teens and had the great fortune to find his true-life soul mate. And I found the nurturing mother mine was often not. Penny Brooke, my “stepmom,” embraced me like her own, loved me, tolerated me, entertained me, but most importantly, gave my father a life of love and meaning.
“Stepmom” feels like a horribly unsatisfying label to describe Penny’s role in my life. She allowed me to see what love and companionship looked like. And fortunately, she is still an immensely important part of my life.
“A mother is she who can take the place of all others but whose place no one else can take.”
—Cardinal Mermillod
And then there is the “finally” love of my life, Kimmy. Although we have only been together for eight short years, Kimmy has shown me the infinite distinctions of true motherhood.
I have always marveled at the idea of the physical process of giving birth … the idea of which petrifies me. I literally cannot fathom it. Not the 9 months leading to it, not the 19 hours of IT, and not the 19 months of nursing and crying afterward. It is a price paid for giving life that is the ultimate gesture of love, generosity and selflessness.
“Motherhood is the biggest gamble in the world. It is the glorious life force. It’s huge and scary – it’s an act of infinite optimism.”
—Gilda Radner
I came into Kimmy and Hailey’s life when Hailey was 15. They had been inseparable since Kimmy’s divorce from Hailey’s father five years earlier. I have been gifted being able to witness, virtually every day for the last eight years, what LOVE really looks like, what it feels like. Love when it is angry. Love when it is disappointed. Love when it is not heard. Love when it is scared. Love when it is inspired. Love when it is hopeful. Love when it is unconditional.
“Mother love is the fuel that enables a normal human being to do the impossible.”
—Marion C. Garretty
I have been immersed in love, being pulled to the extreme at all angles … stretched to unimagined lengths but never at risk of breaking. It is a miracle in constant motion. Sometimes I try to imagine the heartache Kimmy feels. I cannot. Sometimes I try to imagine the pride and joy she feels. I cannot. Not at her level. It is biological. It is chemical. The two are one, like twins feeling each other’s pain and joy.
Kimmy has given me many things for which I may be inspired. Her joy, humor, resilience, courage, leadership and creativity are world class. But her motherhood is out of this world … my world, magical.
Hailey, you are one “lucky egg” miracle. And your children will live extraordinary lives because of the model you have lived in your mother Kimmy.
Happy Mother’s Day, Mom, Penny and Kimmy. Thank you for the LIFE.
P.S. My blogs are, for me, a conversation. I rant for a bit and then … if so inspired, you respond. Your comments close the loop of conversation. They let me know I was heard. They let me know I contributed something … or not. I encourage you to close the loop … or open a new one and say something.