Page 134 - How We Lead Matters

Mom’s Favorite

As the story goes, the Maharaja of Jaipur was asked which of his dozens of
children he loved the most. He replied, “The one who is away until she is
home; the one who is sick until he is well; the one who is unhappy until she
is happy.”
All my children have taken their turn at being the one “I love the
most.” When I lost my daughter, Juliet, in a car accident, it seemed the ache
in my heart would have no end.
Certainly, when my son, Curtis, was going through his liver transplant,
he occupied my whole heart.
When my daughter, Diana, told me that she and her husband had made
the decision to divorce, I understood, but my heart broke for her personal pain.
When my daughter, Wendy, shared with me the hope and despair of
going through in vitro fertilization, I poured out my heart in prayer that her
dream for a family would be answered.
Motherhood. It is death by a thousand cuts. It is a love that knows no
bounds. And I simply can’t imagine this life without it.
To each of my children, “I love you most” and never forget it.

Marilyn Carlson Nelson 117