On mothers and motherhood, 2021 

Mother's Day last year was difficult for many because of the pandemic and not being able to be with mothers and grandmothers and aunts and sisters.

This year, while we are so close to being free of those restrictions, we still are not quite there yet. Zoom meetings and video calls are still not the same as face-to-face visits. 

Nevertheless, we'll celebrate the day and the women (and some very special men) who love us unconditionally and care for us to the best of their abilities. I'm celebrating the day and the women with some more great quotes I've found on mothers and motherhood: 

"There is no way to be the perfect mother but a million ways to be a good one." – Jill Churchill 

"To the world, you are a mother, but to your family, you are the world." – Unknown 

 "The mother's heart is the child's schoolroom." – Henry Ward Beecher 

"Sometimes the strength of motherhood is greater than natural laws." – Barbara Kingsolver 

"A mother is a person who, upon seeing there are only four pieces of pie for five people, promptly announces she never did care for pie." – Tenneva Jordan 

"Mama exhorted her children at every opportunity to 'jump at de sun.' We might not land on the sun, but at least we would get off the ground." – Zora Neale Hurston  

"Acceptance, tolerance, bravery, compassion. These are the things my mom taught me." – Lady Gaga 

"Mothers can look through a child's eyes and see tomorrow." – Reed Markham 

 "My mother is my root, my foundation. She planted the seed that I base my life on, and that is the belief that the ability to achieve starts in your mind." – Michael Jordan 

"Being a mother is learning about strengths you didn't know you had." – Linda Wooten 

"It's such a grand thing to be a mother of a mother-that's why the world calls her grandmother." – Unknown 

 "As mothers and daughters, we are connected with one another. My mother is the bones of my spine, keeping me straight and true. She is my blood, making sure it runs rich and strong. She is the beating of my heart. I cannot now imagine life without her." – Kristin Hannah 

"A grandmother is a little bit parent, a little bit teacher, and a little bit best friend." – Unknown 

"I know what it is like to be brought up with unconditional love. In my life that came from my grandmother." – Andre Leon Talley 

"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 counsels to dissipate the clouds of darkness, and cause peace to return to our hearts." – Washington Irving 

"No language can express the power and beauty and heroism of a mother's love." – Edwin Chapin 

Happy Mother's Day. 

© Marilda Mel White. Mel is a local Tehachapi writer/photographer and owner of Tehachapi Treasure Trove. She's been looking on the bright side for various publications since 1996 and she welcomes your comments at [email protected].