I spent last night at a friend's house. This morning, long before she awoke, I got the gift of sharing the morning preparation her daughters made for her mother's day breakfast in bed. They carefully crafted waffles (one of which was made early and ended up being a morning snack for the girls because it was too dried out by the time the gift was wrapped). They made a card from patterned paper, taking great care at the design, the choice of paper, the cut out letters that spelled "Mom" and were taped not glued so that they would be 3D. They shared the designing of the card and each put her own touch on it. Then they wrapped the hand-made pillow case one had made in Home Ec class that had "Mom" and a heart embroidered on it. The girls didn't fight. They were both intent on sharing their love with their mother and in helping the other to do so as well. It was a beautiful thing to watch. I am truly blessed to have been a small part of this celebration.
In my choice to not have children, I have often wondered at what I have missed and what I will come to miss over the years. I worry that I will regret in later years that I have no family to carry my memory forward. But then I get to share in these moments with my beloved community and I remember that blood family is not the only kind of family there is. I give the gift of love to those who surround me. I give the gift of my presence. I participate. Those are the things that people ultimately remember. And, if I am not the blood mother to anyone this lifetime, that's OK. I get to be part of many people's lives - I get to love many children. Today, for a brief moment, I adopted my friend's children. And that was a beautiful thing.
Kelle Sparta is the author of The Consultative Real Estate Agent - Building Relationships that Create Loyal Clients, Get More Referrals, and Increase Your Sales, as well as being a speaker and trainer specializing in the real estate industry. Kelle is the founder of Sparta Success Systems, a real estate training company that provides tools, products, and training to empower agents and brokers to create lives and businesses they can love. For more information, visit her website at http://www.spartasuccess.com/. © 2007, Kelle Sparta.
