I’m not a mom, yet I find a way to mom all day long

*Gasp*

Oh no is this another rant from a childless, single woman begging sensitivity because it’s Mother’s Day? 

Not at all.
I’m quite happy because I feel like I understand a simple fact.

Mom is not a noun, it’s a verb.

Even Eve (yeah our FIRST mother) was called the mother of all living, BEFORE she had children. This fact was pointed out to me years ago by a dear friend, and he was simply trying to help me see something.

There’s way MORE to mom than any of us can understand.

We mom when a friend calls in the middle of the night needing a listening ear. When a child who’s not our own draws a picture of us (which are usually pretty darn accurate). When our sister picks us up a treat “just because”, that’s ridiculously awesome momming right there.

I was so blessed to not only have a FANTASTIC biological mother, but another mom in the form of my aunt as amazing constants in my life. Throw in some sisters and friends, and how could I not learn about momming and the quiet, beautiful presence it holds in our lives.

The first time I attempted to actually mom, I was about five years old. I was put in charge of watching my 10-month old brother for a minute while my mom ran downstairs. All I had to do was make sure he didn’t take his walker down the stairs.
It wasn’t long before there was a loud crash at the bottom of the stairs. (He was fine don’t worry… he’ll argue otherwise to this day. Honestly though, he survived)

I waited a few more years, then tried my hand at babysitting. I was able to babysit some fabulous families within my neighborhood and couldn’t believe how adorable kids were when they weren’t your own siblings.

Then I became an aunt and my world spun upside down in the most wonderful way. As each niece and nephew has stepped into my life, my heart bursts with this incomprehensible love that I cannot remember my life before they entered it.

Are there tough days?
Sure, I will look at a new baby and can’t help but smile and then feel that little prick of hurt in my heart that I will not hold one of my own.

That’s why knowing what a mom is has become so vital to me. The narrow definition seems so silly to me. I have been so blessed to be surrounded with dozens of moms who may be friends, sisters, or literal moms and I look for a way to mom each day.

Because to me, it’s a verb and not just a noun.