Happy Mother’s Day

Thanks for joining me for another edition of the SerenityThroughSweat blog. Being a father of two sons I spend a lot of time discussing fatherhood, masculinity, and lessons I want to pass on to my boys. With Mother’s Day today, I want to spend some time appreciating the women who shape our lives.

Pilot’s tend to be very mission/task oriented. You wouldn’t want your pilot to say “well folks our flight from NY to LA didn’t go exactly as planned, but we got you to Reno and that’s close enough”. The mission is NY to LA and the expectation is that the professionals up front will deal with whatever complications come up in order to complete the mission safely. That mindset is something I picked up from my mother at a young age.

I remember going to my mom’s office after school and stuffing benefits enrollment package envelopes so that they could go out on time. As a young kid, stuffing envelopes wasn’t the most fun task, and I’m sure I complained just as much as I helped. But, the lesson that you adapt to your situation and complete the mission was clearly there, and looking back, it’s something I’m grateful for.

Finding creative ways to solve problems and take care of your family is about as badass a mom skill as there is.

When we first started dating, one of the many reasons I was initially attracted to my wife was her ability to take on challenges and adapt. Covid-19 has given me even more reason to appreciate the strength and grace of my wife especially in her role as a mother.

Giving birth at home in the middle of a global pandemic (with the midwife still enroute) she made the day seem like any other day with her calm demeanor and poise. She has found the mental bandwidth to work from home, care for our newborn, parent our toddler, and still keep me on my toes when I lose my way. She has navigated the mental headspace of this unusual situation with the strength and grace that only a mother can.

I’m so grateful to have such strong women in my life, and I hope that my sons grow to appreciate them as much as I do. They are tremendous leaders, teachers, and nurturers, and they help everyone the come in contact with get a little closer to Serenity.

Happy Mother’s Day, I love you both.

Thanks for joining me, stay safe and stay sweaty my friends.