M O T H E R S D A Y

Mothers are incredible creatures. Without any training they perform a highly advanced biological experiment—growing us from tadpoles to infants inside their bellies. This feat is followed by an even more impossible one. They pry themselves open to let us out and shortly go back to looking very normal, as if we’d never been inside them in the first place. But at this point their work is far from over. They have to continue to supervise our growth outside the womb, which requires more than a knack for biology. A person with doctorates in psychology, developmental education, culinary arts, engineering, and nursing might do it easily. But most mothers don’t have those kinds of degrees. Somehow, they manage. Developing superhuman abilities that perplex the world of science: “eyes in the back of my head”, unprecedented arm strength, and the gift of interpreting meaning from silence—just a few of the skills necessity helps them develop to handle us. There’s only one thing about mothering they don’t have to learn, and that is how to love us. They do that from the very start—automatically and unconditionally. This is an image I made for my mom this mother’s day. (Posting it won’t ruin the surprise, as she doesn’t frequent the blogosphere.) Consider it a reminder not to forget your ma, mum, mom, or mommy dearest