Mother’s Day Disappointments

Dear Mom,

This Mother’s Day, I want to say thanks. Thank you for setting me up to be shocked, disappointed, and frustrated.

Disappointed to learn it’s not as easy as you made it look. Disappointed to know so much of what you taught me is not common sense. Disappointed to find the world does not hold itself to the standards you taught me to expect of myself.

Frustrated when I’m faced with people who think women aren’t strong and adept and independent. Frustrated to see how many women are okay with being less than capable. Frustrated to discover how many little girls have no idea how much they are capable of because no one showed them differently. Frustrated because none of these are things I would have thought or expected based on how you raise me and the example you set.

Shocked to discover how rare it is to be raised surrounded by such love and happiness. Shocked to find how many people don’t have or even understand a relationship like ours. Shocked that everything I mistook for normal was, in fact, special.

So, Mom, thank you. Thank you for my Mother’s Day disappointments. You may have set me up to be let down, but how else would I know to expect better from myself and the world around me.