Are you Mom Enough?

Did you see it?  Did you hear it discussed?  Did it make you want to curse, cry, hit someone or anything in between?  I saw my friends react in a number of different ways last week when this Time magazine cover hit newsstands.  The controversial cover photo was nothing in comparison to reactions over the title.

"Are you Mom enough?"

Content of the article aside, that question hit a nerve.  And if we're honest, it does with every mom.  Each of us has wondered, even if only to ourselves, if we are enough.  Are we doing it right?  That's why the cover title caused so many to react.  Some of you cursed.  Some of you wrote a letter or blog or Facebook post.  Some of you went home and quietly wondered again if you are doing a good enough job.  Some of you have no idea what I'm talking about because while half the world was discussing being a mom, you were busy being one.  Regardless of how you responded, let me assure you, you are most certainly mom enough.

If you've carried a child inside of you and allowed your body to be the place where she could safely grow, you're mom enough.
If you chose to sacrifice your own comfort so a child has a place to call home, you're mom enough.
If you've done 17 loads of the tiniest pieces of laundry imaginable, you're mom enough.
If you've found yourself at the end of the day with unexplained substances on your clothes, you're mom enough.
If you've sat awake at night because you wanted to be sure the fever broke, you're mom enough.
If you've watched the same episode of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse enough times to repeat the dialogue before the characters, you're mom enough.
If you've had to watch your baby lay in a hospital bed, you're mom enough.
If you've cried the tears only a mom who's lost a baby knows, you're mom enough.
If you've snuck into her room while she sleeps just because you want to be close to the one you love, you're mom enough.
If you've doled out punishment when it would be easier to let it go, you're mom enough.

If you're a mom in any capacity, you're mom enough.
Anything anyone says otherwise is noise.