It's Official

It's Official. I am no longer Utah's Young Mother of the Year.

Whew!

That's about all I can say. I didn't realize until it was officially over what a weight I felt bearing this title. I don't know if it's that I felt scrutiny from others so much as that I constantly felt it from myself. It was jus so easy to think, "Now is that really something the 'Mother of the Year' would do?" And though I'll admit it was good in the fact it made me even more deliberate in my mothering, it feels great to give myself a little more room to breathe.

Truthfully, the experience has been a tremendous blessing to me. I have had the privilege and opportunity of rubbing shoulders with extraordinary women and mothers from all over the country, and especially from the state of Utah, and they have inspired me! I have grown through speaking engagements and assignments, and I have come to know even more deeply that motherhood is what it's all about. It is what matters most at this time in my life, and it is what I need to be wearing out my days and time doing. I'm so grateful for the privilege of being a mother!

And so now, let me introduce you to Utah's new Young Mother of the Year for 2013. Her name is Michelle Lenhardt, and she is from Salt Lake City, Utah. Truthfully, I do not know this incredible woman--yet. But I am looking forward to learning more about her because I understand she is worth knowing. Due to the fact I was in Hawaii on a little girls' get-away with my in-laws, I missed the Selection Luncheon and don't even have pictures to share (so lame, I know), but I do have her blog link, so take a minute to check this out: www.scenesfromthewild.blogspot.com. Congratulations, Michelle! Great things lie ahead!

And I just want to say one more thing as I close this very simple post. No matter who you are or whether you are a mother of many children or one, I hope you know that you are just as qualified to be the "Mother of the Year" as I am, or any of us who have ever been selected. I think I was chosen because motherhood means so much to me and because I was willing to be a representative of the American Mothers organization. That could be anyone. I guess what I'm saying is this: be your own "Mother of the Year" in your own special way. You don't need to be selected by an organization to be a great mother. To your children, you are everything--you are the Mother of the Year. I promise you that. Don't doubt it. You may have disastrous moments and rough days (believe me, I've had more than I can count), but you are still the mother they would choose above every other mother out there. And that makes you not just the "Mother of the Year" but the "Mother of a Lifetime."

Who could ask to be more than that?