The summer after freshman year away at college was a challenging time for my mom and I. After nine months of freedom, making choices for myself independent of parental influence, the readjustment living at home during those summer months was challenging for both of us.

During one particular stretch of time that summer, my mom could do nor say anything right. And I am certain the level of tension was a two-way street, she felt it as well, but hid it better than my young adult self. I will never forget one morning getting ready to go to my summer job. My mom and I were in the midst of a cooling period, barely speaking to one another. I went to her bedroom to use some hairspray and scanning her bureau, I saw adhered to the mirror, high in the right corner, a magazine clipping with a twine heart, flowers in and around with a quote:

‘Making the decision to have a child-it’s momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body.’

Seeing the quote hit me in my heart center. I am as is my sisters, everything to my mom. My mom is someone who holds her emotions close to her heart, she is very loving and nurturing. The quote spoke to her, so much so, she placed it on her mirror, because it spoke the truth about motherhood. And seeing the quote was an instant shift in the compassion I felt towards her. Before leaving for work that day, I said goodbye, gave her hug and told her I loved her. I never spoke to her about seeing the quote nor do I remember what the conflict was during the summer. But what I do know, is seeing the quote, and knowing it was important to my mom, gave me a lens into her heart. Now that I am a mother, I truly understand the quote, and it is by far one of my favorite quotes about motherhood.

Below are my favorite quotes about motherhood, that I hope you enjoy.

1. If you want to change the world, go home and love your family. – Mother Teresa, her response on when asked how to increase peace in the world, after being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979.
2. When you are a mother, you are never really alone in your thoughts.A mother always has to think twice-Once for herself, and once for her child. – Sophia Loren
3. The moment a child is born, a mother is born also. – Rajneesh
4. A mother’s love for her child is like nothing else in the world. It knows no law, no pity, it dares all things and crushes down remorselessly all that stands in its path. – Agatha Christie.
5. Grown don’t mean nothing to a mother. A child is a child. They get bigger, older, but grown? What’s that supposed to mean? In my heart, it don’t mean a thing. – Toni Morrison, Beloved, 1987
6. Successful mothers are not the ones that have never struggled. They are the ones that never give up, despite the struggles. – Sharon Jaynes
7. Making the decision to have a child-it’s momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body. – Elizabeth Stone.
8. Being a mother is learning about the strengths you didn’t know you had, and dealing with the fears, you didn’t know existed. – Linda Wooten.
9. There is no way to be a perfect mother, but a million ways to be a good one. – Author unknown.
10. It’s not until you become a mother that your judgment slowly turns to compassion and understanding. -Erma Bombeck

If you have favorite quotes on motherhood, please share them with us in the comments section! I’d love to hear them!

© Copyright Dr. Claire Nicogossian 2017