Honor Motherhood

I came across a quote from Donald Winnicot that caught my attention.  In her blog, BrainPickings, Maria Popova writes: 

Winnicott calls for a recognition of “the immense contribution to the individual and to society” that “the ordinary good mother” makes simply by virtue of her devotion to the child, particularly in the early stages of infancy. He urges:

Is not this contribution of the devoted mother unrecognized precisely because it is immense? If this contribution is accepted, it follows that every man or woman who is sane, every man or woman who has the feeling of being a person in the world, and for whom the world means something, every happy person, is in infinite debt to a woman.

https://www.brainpickings.org: Pioneering Psychoanalyst Donald Winnicott on the Mother’s Contribution to Society

I wholeheartedly agree.  As a man, I cannot appreciate the full meaning of what it takes to be a Mother.  As the husband to a wife who has gone through labor 3 times, and as the father of a daughter who will deliver a baby tomorrow at 9:30 am, I stand in amazement of what they are willing to go through physically, mentally and emotionally to bring this new life into being.  My own mother went through this 10 times.  So, beyond these words of awe, of gratitude, and of respect and admiration... beyond these, there needs to be attitude and actions that match the words.  My actions are a true measure of how I feel.  I hope to be open to the subtle guidance (usually sub-conscious guidance) from my daughters, my wife and my mother on how to honor their sacrifice.