Building Cathedrals

This morning I had to remind myself that I was “building cathedrals”. My son has been involved with the school music concert which was held in the City Hall over the last two nights. Including the rehearsal the night before, he has had three long days and late nights. This morning it was a tough job getting him up and off to school – grumpiness all around. Talking to him, I felt like I was on one of those overseas calls where there is a time delay on the response. He seemed to be moving in slow motion.

“Nice mom” was being understanding and trying to make it easy on him by helping to get ready, grabbing the hockey kit, and all but attempting to carry him to the car (yeah, right!). But “bad mom” was thinking that half the school was probably feeling the same and he should just get up and go already! There it is again, trying to find the balance between nurturing and kicking out of the nest, so that they can fly.

But to come back to the cathedrals: a while ago there was an email doing the rounds which compared being a mother to the cathedral-builders of long ago. These people toiled for many years, sometimes working on cathedrals which would only be completed long after they had died. But the attention to detail and the craftsmanship was of a very high standard. Nobody may remember the names of those who did the work, but they laid the foundations for great buildings in the same way that mothers quietly lay the foundations for great lives.

So with Women’s Day coming up, here’s a salute to all the mothers out there. When the going gets tough, think of all the “cathedrals” you are building.