To the World You are a Mother, but to Your Family You are the World

Happy International Women's Day!

International Women’s Day upon us! This Saturday, March 8 is the day designated to honor women all over the globe. In past years, I have been at the Commission on the Status of Women hosted by the United Nations when International Women’s Day rolled around. I have spent that day—or the days surrounding it—in meetings where the women of the world beat their chests, defame men, mock motherhood, and whine ferociously about the eternal plight of women.

Rarely in those meetings have a heard the word “mother.” Rarely have I heard gratitude expressed for the work and contributions of men. Rarely have I heard about the momentous value of every child’s life, the growth that comes from mothering, the benefits of marriage, or the joy of FAMILY. Not every woman is a mother, but every mother is a woman, and every woman (and man) ever born was born of a mother. This matters tremendously.

I won’t be at the UN for International Women’s Day this year. So, I’ve decided to celebrate the day on my own terms by highlighting 15 inspiring quotes about MOTHERS. Here goes!

• “Motherhood: All love begins and ends there.” —Robert Browning

• “Family is not an important thing, it’s everything.” —Michael J. Fox

• “The influence of a mother in the lives of her children is beyond calculation.”

  —James E. Faust

• “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

• “There is no way to be a perfect mother, and a million ways to be a good one.”

  —Jill Churchill

• “Motherhood is a choice you make every day, to put someone else’s happiness and well-being ahead of your own.” —Donna Ball

• "A mother is the truest friend we have, when trials heavy and sudden fall upon us; when adversity takes the place of prosperity; when friends desert us; when trouble thickens around us, still will she cling to us, and endeavor by her kind precepts and counsel to dissipate the clouds of darkness, and cause peace to return to our hearts.” —Washington Irving

• "Being a mother is learning about strengths you didn’t know you had, and dealing with fears you didn’t know existed." —Linda Wooten

• "Having children just puts the whole world into perspective. Everything else just disappears." —Kate Winslet

• "Motherhood is the greatest thing and the hardest thing." —Ricki Lake

• “Motherhood is the biggest gamble in the world. It is the glorious life force. It’s huge and scary — it’s an act of infinite optimism.” —Gilda Radner

• “Motherhood is the greatest potential influence either for good or ill in human life. The mother’s image is the first that stamps itself on the unwritten page of the young child’s mind. It is her caress that first awakens a sense of security; her kiss, the first realization of affection; her sympathy and tenderness, the first assurance that there is love in the world.” —David O. McKay

• “Thus far the mighty mystery of motherhood is this: How is it that doing it all feels like nothing is ever getting done.” —Rebecca Woolf

• “Becoming a mother has made me next-level confident. I’ve never felt more empowered.” —Kelly Clarkson

• “Being a mother is not about what you gave up to have a child, but what you’ve gained from having one.” —Sunny Gupta

Those of us who have been mothers or were born of mothers know this to be true: To the world you are a mother, but to your family you are the world.

Happy International Women’s Day!!

With love,

Kimberly