A Mother’s Pain
A mother’s role is crucial in the upbringing of her children.
Mother, who is a mother?
What is the responsibility of the mother?
Rochelle sat in Bee’s Café deep, battling years of painful thoughts that refused to leave.
What is the real function of a mother?
Tears reeled down as she struggled with the agonizing thought of the treatment dished out to her by the woman who granted her the gift of life while staring at the steam slowly rising from her cup of untouched latte.
Did she love me?
Is she my mother?
Grabbing a mirror from her bag hanging loosely to the right of her chair, she examined her face, searching for a resemblance with the help of her memories.
She had discarded all pictures of her ‘mother’, believing that the pain would go with them.
It didn’t.
Why was I treated like Cinderella? Her thoughts shoved her back into her childhood.
“Hi, Rochelle!”
No answer from Rochelle.
Rachel stood in front of her, reaching out, her hand and gently touching Rochelle.
She was startled and jumped in fright.
Rachel, her best friend, unconsciously yanked her out of that world, pulling one of four empty chairs and sitting across from her.
Rochelle had forgotten about their meeting. Rachel was successful in her craft shop and encouraged Rochelle to start her own craft business.
“Where were you?” Rachel asked. “I stood facing you, and you stared at me, but your eyes and mind were in a different dimension. Remember we had a meeting,” she reminds.
“Gosh, I forgot,” slipped from the pain in Rochelle’s heart.
“What were you thinking about? Didn’t you see when I entered the café?”
“I am sorry,” Rochelle apologized. “Mother’s Day is near.”
“You have gone back down that road again?” Rachel asks.
“I am a mother and mothers don’t have the luxury of falling apart in front of their children, even when they are afraid, even when their children are adults.” — Kristin Hannah, “The Nightingale”
“You know Mother’s Day is a sad day for me. It seems as if she has come back from the dead with vengeance. Oh, Rachel, my heart hurts,” Rochelle cried.
Reaching over to console her, “Why are you torturing yourself?”
“Mother’s Day had me thinking,” Rochelle shares. “What do you think the function of a mother is?”
Not waiting for her friend to respond, “I know there are no manuals, but mothers are their children’s first teachers in all areas of developmental growth. Where was my mother when I needed her.”
“What brought this on?” Rachel asked, wondering. “Why are you looking at her now?”
“It seems as if I do not know myself,” tears shook Rochelle’s body from left to right. “I was thinking about the relationship I have with my daughter. We talk daily, and there is no limit to what we talk about. She is so easy to love, flaws and all.”
“Because you are a better mother to your kids,” Rachel reminds her, squeezing her hands.
Wiping tears, Rochelle wondered aloud, “Psychology says, mothers are their children’s first teachers and are responsible for their social, emotional, physical, cognitive, and independent development. Do you believe that saying?”
Rachel stared at her friend, digging into her past and present.
Rochelle went on, “Do you believe that psychology report?”
Nodding, Rachel informs, “I do not know what to believe. All I understand is that a mother is a fierce protector of her children and is the one who does the nurturing and nourishing.”
“My mother was never like that,” Rochelle’s memory reminds her.
“Mine was good. I was a sickly child, and she was my doctor. She was a great mother in all the areas I needed as a child. I never heard my mother pray or saw her read the bible. However, she sends all of us to Sunday school,” Rachel recalls without saying a word.
Silence briefly slides in as Rachel says, “Rochelle, is something wrong? Why are you hashing up these bad memories?”
“Mother’s Day is approaching. Pain is attached to all the memories I have of my mother. Why couldn’t she love me for who I am? Didn’t she want me? I was not a bad daughter.”
I am writing this not for pity, but to remind mothers that how they treat their children will remain with them throughout their lives. There are no manuals on how to raise children, but all mothers have an internal guide on how to love and nurture their children, God’s gift.
I am a firm believer in God and the Bible. Various scriptures emphasize the mother’s role to love and care for her children. She is to teach and train, nurture, and discipline. She is the one who was gifted to carry children in her womb. According to scripture, she is an amazing comforter (Isaiah 66:13).
I specifically love what Proverbs 31:28–29 says about a mother “Her children rise up and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her.”
A mother’s role is crucial in the upbringing of her children.
Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to read my story. Enjoy from other writers whose links are below:
HER🦋,
And Shameem Anwar,
And, CarolFl