Motherhood Mondays (MMs): Stars of the show I'm watching...

Gah. I love people.

Sincerely - I just LOVE them (generally speaking, of course). I love people's stories, their unique expressions of personality, warts, quirks and all. So for today's Motherhood Monday reflection I wanted to highlight a couple of moms who are like movie stars to me. I'm fascinated with these everyday heroes, I love how they live life. I love how their uniqueness comes out in the way they "mother". I feel this way about SO MANY more than 2 women, but I only have time for these precious ones tonight.

No one's perfect, but these ladies are beautiful in the kind of complex way that makes you put your hand on your heart when you talk about them. (and they seriously have NO CLUE I'm typing this for all the internets to see...)

Let's start with Portia.

This is a picture of Portia's apartment wall and that's one of her precious little girls admiring her artwork. Portia is a work of art herself. She radiates passion for life and if there's a proverbial "box" you can bet Portia is NOT in it.

Or anywhere near it.

Her two girls eminate sunshine and love in a way that you know originated from their free-spirited momma. They are the kids running around naked at the beach. They are the family finding coconuts on their walks (they live in Florida) and bringing them home to drink the water inside. Portia knows it's more important to cuddle and listen then to make sure everyone's in bed by bedtime.  Portia is changing the world through her zeal to live life to the fullest and she's not afraid to experience what that "living" may feel like, no matter how vulnerable that may make her.
She's a beautiful woman and an excellent mother.

Then there's Cathy.

I'm going to try not to weep as I type this. Why? Because I'm a big sappy mush?
No.

Well, maybe.

But that's not the primary reason.  I might cry because deep, real LOVE usually brings me to tears. This lady embodies such revolutionary love, it's a tricky thing to articulate. Yes, she has 3 kids that are wonderfully cared for and loved - but beyond that....Cathy loves people with an almost reckless devotion. She peers into people's lives, sees beauty and holds on to that knowledge even when the other person forgets it themselves. While it seems most of society is focused on things that will only be around one or two generations (money, fame, status, getting your kid into the most elite private school, eating the best organic food, blah blah blah), Cathy gives herself entirely to things that will truly last.

Is she amazing because of her work among the desperate and overlooked in Africa? Yeah sure. Is she worth introducing to the world because of her work with handicapped kids here in NYC? I guess so. But one of the things about Cathy that silences me is her ability to deeply love, over and over without expecting anything in return. In the face of hurt, misunderstanding, and all the mess people can make - she keeps loving. It's breathtaking. I wish you could see it. No. Better yet, I wish you could experience it.

I need to get her autograph one of these days.

Hopefully I didn't gush too much. I'm not trying to create a cyber-kumbaya circle where we all go around the room and tell everyone we love them. It's just that, as a mom, I've learned to be impressed with different things than when I didn't have children. And my personality almost demands that, when I'm truly wowed with something/someone, I have to share it.

These women impress me. And so many more do - daily. To all the unsung mommy heroes that march to different beats and love so dangerously that it changes lives - you are worth the spotlight too. You are Stars.