It’s 9:30 p.m. and Sarah Tarullo is tired. For the wife of Pastor Robert Tarullo of Westminster Church in Indian Head Park, it has been another busy day of appointments and work, drop-offs and pick-ups, and all she would really love to do is turn the lights off and go to sleep. But then the kids walk in, and they want to talk about all the things. So, she turns the light back on, and she listens. Because she’s a mom. And she has never wanted anything else.

As a little girl, Sarah Tarullo simply wanted to grow up to be a mother. She longed for a day when she would spend her days as part of a loving family, delicately teaching and equipping her children with all that is needed to tackle this tough world.

And those days are here.

“I miscarried a number of times, which taught me that each child is a precious fragile gift of life, not to be taken for granted,” says Tarullo, the mother of 17-year-old Nathaniel, 14-year-old Christy and 11-year-old Katerina.

Last year, Tarullo found herself, much like so many of her fellow parents, overworked and frantically going from one thing to another, never being allowed the time to cherish her children as much as she would like. That is, until the pandemic changed the world.

“We listened to books together, played board games, hiked in the woods, talked more, and shared more meals,” she recalls. “It was a difficult time, but one that I will forever cherish.”

So, on this Mother’s Day, she finds herself not asking for much, because she already has it all.

“You think about getting this amazing card and a wonderful breakfast in bed—and make no mistake, I treasure those gifts, but when the kids show kindness, compassion, respect, perseverance, and a faith in God, that’s the best. That’s when you realize that all of the hard work was worth it,” she says. “Every Mother’s Day is a reminder of the awesome gift each of my children are.”

WHAT IS THE GREATEST LESSON YOUR KIDS HAVE TAUGHT YOU?

Kids want our time. They want us to hold them, to laugh with them, to spend time with them, to listen to them, to work with them, and to relax with them. They want quality focused time with us. That is perhaps one of the greatest gifts they give us and want from us—nurturing time together.

WHAT IS MOTHERHOOD’S GREATEST REWARD?

As a mother, my greatest reward is when I see my kids show kindness, compassion, patience, self-control, perseverance, diligence, integrity, respect, a commitment to what is right, forgiveness, and ultimately faith and hope in God.

WHAT WOULD YOUR IDEAL MOTHER’S DAY LOOK LIKE?

Having all my kids at home, or perhaps a family outing to The Morton Arboretum. Good food and good music would definitely find its way into the day. But ideally, it would come down to spending quality time together and laughing. Just no big house projects.