Most Used Word

What word in the English language is said the most, has tons of ways to say it, and is a word that evokes a broad spectrum of emotions?

MOM!!  

Mother, Mom, Mommy, Mama, Mommomm, Momma, Ma and the list goes on….

No scientific proof, studies or surveys support my findings, but one thing I know for certain – it is true in my house!  My kids are constantly calling for mom, crying for mommy, looking for mama or like my 8 month old baby boy just saying Momm Momm because he knows how!  From the moment they first say it until, well, forever it is one of the dearest words that a mother will hear, falling just short of the #1 hit – I love you!!

The amount of emotions that the word Mom evokes when said is inconceivable.  When you hear your baby say mama for the first time you are filled with joy and amazement and just know that you have the smartest baby in the whole world.  When a teenager wants to argue and yells Mooottheerrr you wonder why you taught them how to speak!  A scared cry of MOM in the middle of the night causes your heart to skip a beat as you worry.  An excited “Mommy” yelled out as your 5 year old bounds through the door can make you just as excited as he is.  A sad “Mom” when a loved pet dies can make your heart sink into your stomach as your child turns to you for empathy.  Then there are the “Mommy” calls when your child falls and scrapes her knee and you rush to her side to fix her owie.  How about the timid “mom?” when your child is scared to tell you something?  Or the scratchy throat sick “Maaaam” yelled out in the middle of the night.  Sometimes you feel annoyed or exhausted just hearing “mama” called out over and over again!  No matter how or when you hear it, the name mom creates feelings  – some you never even knew existed.

Even now, my daughter is calling “mommy” because she can’t find her book.  I still call out to my mom… and she still worries.  She can make me laugh till tears roll down my cheeks and I can’t breathe.  We still cry together.  My Mom knows just by the way I say “Hi Mom” when I call her up on the phone, how I am feeling.  I hope that when my kids are grown up with their own families they will continue to call out to their Mom.

Listen when your child calls out to you and really feel the emotions that the name awakens within.  You might be surprised at what you feel.  I know I am!