Mom. Mother. Momma. Ma.

The title is unimportant because it is the arms that reach for you, the smile that greets you. Biological or found, loved despite differences and time. Someone you can't shake loose and reflected in your mannerisms and speech. Someone you return to because where else would you go?

There is good and bad, hurts and exuberance so big it lifts your feet above the ground; all contained in a single body.

Last Saturday I sat in a room with some incredibly talented people with stories to share about motherhood, where nothing is black and white, simple or the kind of easy that's hoped for. Never easy but always earned, the joyful mixed with the tragic, hilarious, and poignant.

I've been carrying around other people's stories, their words stuck between the cracks of my mind.

Listen to Your Mother Oklahoma City 2016 will take place at the Will Rogers Theatre Sunday May 1st at 3PM. Come listen to these stories. I promise you'll recognize pieces of yourself in their words; you'll laugh and cry and reach for the nearest hand to squeeze. Bring a box of tissue, you're gonna cry through the whole thing.

You can listen to each cast member's story on YouTube. Take a minute, experience each one, take a deep breath and laugh or cry. Listen to Your Mother was a life changing experience for me. I've never shared something so intimate in such a public way. I'm a terrible speaker, I stumble over my words and rush because I get nervous, but I am so thankful to have been a part of this wonderful group.