By Kara Linaburg
The first Mother’s Day was celebrated on May 12, 1908, by Anna Jarvis in Grafton, West Virginia, and has grown into a day to honor not only biological motherhood but maternal bonds.
Motherhood is a role that extends beyond birthing a child and creating life. Oxford Languages defines a mother as a woman who brings up a child with care and affection, protectively looks after someone with kindness, or a woman who gives birth. Wikipedia defines a mother as a female parent of a child, either by having helped raise them or by having given birth to them.
Maykayla Dixon, of Clarksburg, said that when she needed her, her mom “has 
dropped everything to love and support me in every way possible. She is the most beautiful and talented person that I know.” As a teen, Dixon left Morgantown, where she was living at the time, to move in with her mother in Harrison County. According to her mom, Jenna Ash, she had waited and hoped that her daughter would one day be able to live with her. She and her mom are both better because of this time, according to Dixon, and she said they have been blessed with many “favorable” memories since.
Motherhood is also selfless. Jay Linaburg, who is a current resident of Clarksburg, said “at an early age my father, who loved his family very much, passed away when I was twelve. I became angry at God, wondering how could God love me and take my father at such a young age.” Linaburg said his mom worked hard as a single mom to provide for her four children, and no matter what happened, as Linaburg struggled with substance use disorder for years after, “she loved me even though.” He remembers the prayers his mother prayed for him, and how she continued to call him to make sure he was okay even when he lived miles from home in Augusta, Georgia.
A mother’s love is unconditional. Women who are not mothers through birth, can still play an important and vital role in others’
lives. They are teachers, mentors at jobs, neighbors, and friends. They are the women who shape those they care for, encourage them and stand beside them in the storms.
“I love my aunt (Tonya Hamrick), who has played a huge motherly role in my life,” Sandra Cumberledge, who works for the Women’s Teen Challenge in Harrison County, said. “She opened her home to me when I was struggling the most, but most importantly, opened her heart. She has taught me how to live my life according to God’s word and continually prayed blessings over my life. She has been my encouragement and always
spoke life over me. She has loved me unconditionally and is always there when I need her. I honestly don’t know where I’d be without her or what I’d do without her support. I wouldn’t be who I am today if it wasn’t for her.”
A mother’s love also reaches beyond biological ties. Kaleigh Bowie, a young mother in her early 20s who lives with her husband in West Milford, recently had their first baby, Clover. She said that before becoming pregnant with Clover, she was naive to what true motherhood meant. “The first couple weeks of being Clover’s mother were almost more than I could bear, with several realizations dotted in of ‘Oh my gosh. This is my life now. Forever,’” Bowie said. “Truthfully, it wasn’t until Clover was three weeks old that I started enjoying being her mom.”
Bowie said that being a mother is giving her a deeper appreciation of what being a mother means. “I thought I respected mothers before being one, annually honoring my mother with ‘You’ve always been there for me. You’ve always loved me…’ cards and toasts and gifts. But now I know the immense burden of providing constant attention, right now, nutrition, and love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.” She said that she is learning the selflessness of loving her daughter more than she loves herself.
Mother’s Day is Sunday. Happy Mother’s Day to all mothers, work moms, stepmoms, aunts, sisters, friends, and mentors who freely love the younger generation around them, changing lives whether they know it or not.
Jay Linaburg is the father of the reporter.
