There is an endless supply of very poignant quotes to conjure up when thinking about Mother’s Day (as anyone who just searched for Mother’s Day card can attest to). Most of them have the benefit of being true. However, the one that I find most on target, which also has the benefit of being funny, comes from that great ancient philosopher, Betty White.
“It’s not easy being a mom. If it were easy, fathers would do it.”
Here at the Y, we not only celebrate all of the great moms in our community, we employ a lot of them! In fact, for an organization whose original name contains a reference to the male gender, it’s both ironic and poetic justice that 74% of the Y’s associates these days are women. What percentage of those incredible folks are also moms is not a number I know, but I’m guessing that it’s pretty high. And those who aren’t actually mothers are likely to have all of the innate mom instincts imaginable given the fact that most of them spend their days helping kids both develop and be happy all at once.
In this particular time at the Y, our associates are either having to tend to their Y responsibilities from home while simultaneously acting as classroom teacher, or are helping to care for the children of emergency workers, simultaneously managing their own children from afar.
These are the kind of juggling acts no one has yet invented an award for, though one is surely deserved. At least someone (actually, Anna Marie Jarvis to be specific) came up with the idea of a day to celebrate the incredible wonder that is a mom. As a guy who comes home every day from work to see the exhausted and exasperated look in his wife’s eyes after a day full of working full-time while trying to keep two ten year old fourth graders on task, I can only kiss my lucky stars. And my wife.
Here's to all the hardworking moms at the Y, associates, volunteers and spouses alike! Thank you for your special mom powers. They make you the indisputable backbone of our families and of our community.
All the best,
John
John K. Hoey
President & CEO
The Y in Central Maryland