Remember those fountains at the mall? The ones where you stood hopefully, holding your penny tight in your fist, eyes squeezed shut, thinking of the one wish you wanted to come true more than any other wish you could think of? Then you threw your penny in, praying and hoping and wishing that someday, that wish would turn into reality?
You're looking at the result of hundreds of pennies thrown into the waters of such a fountain....
From the age of eleven, I would throw in my penny and wish for a baby. I knew that I couldn't have a baby right now, but more than anything, I knew I wanted to be a mom. More than a new Barbie or Cabbage Patch Kid. More than a pair of Guess jeans or black high-top Reeboks. (Although there may still be one of those pennies with such a wish attached.)
Fast forward thirteen years. I had my first son, Elijah, when I was twenty-four. Isabel, when I was twenty-six. And Gabe, when I was thirty.
Fast forward another thirteen years, and here we are today. My thirteenth Mother's Day. Each one sweeter than the last. Being a mom is everything I had ever hoped for. Some days are exhausting and frustrating and worrisome. But most days are filled with love, laughter, and joy. Watching them grow into these amazing people from tiny babies, knowing that their spirits have thrived under my consistent care. That is a gift greater than any wish I could have ever hoped for.
Happy Mother's Day, to every mom out there, and to every girl who right now is clutching her penny close to her heart, wishing for the chance to be the mom she most wants to be.
