Every time an award is received, or a game is won, and the winner yells into the camera, “Hi Mom!,” I smile. How great is it that moms are the first to be considered when a child does something well. How great that moms are loved so much, and credited with so much, that they get the first shout-out.

Mom. The first to take care of me, the first to teach me how to take care of myself, and the first to teach me how to care for others. Also the first to prove how much work it all takes.

Mom was always working. She had a full-time, 9-5 job, and then a part-time job in the evenings or on weekends. And they weren’t careers that she was passionate about, but jobs that benefitted her kids in more ways than just bringing in a paycheck to keep us fed and to put clothes on our backs. She ran a daycare out of our house so she could be home with us, and she worked as a secretary at the Y so we could get free camp enrollment, and she worked at a university to get us discounts on tuition. And despite all the jobs, she was always home in the morning, putting breakfast on the table and getting us on the bus, and then cheering us on from the sidelines, and driving us to and from our extra-curriculars in the afternoons and on weekends. How did she fit everything in? And when did she ever do anything for herself?

Being a mom, myself now, I’ve figured out the answer to those questions. She fit everything in because she was powered by love and sheer will. And what she did for herself was to grow us into capable adults who don’t need her anymore. But that right there is a Catch-22, because, as she told me, “The greatest achievement as a mom is to have kids who grow up and don’t need you anymore, but it’s also the worst thing that can happen to a mom.” So now she has all the time in the world to do what she wants for herself, but I really think she’d rather still be mom-ing us.

But mom, please know, on Mother’s Day and every day, that even though we can figure things out on our own, we still need you. We need to know we can come home, show you all the great things we’ve done, get a hug, and then hear you say “Be careful” as we head back out.

We also need to know we can come home, tell you about all the dumb things we’ve done, still get a hug, and then hear you say “Be careful” as we head back out.

So don’t worry, mom, whether we’re winning or losing, you’ll still get the first shout-out. Thanks for the love.