Sigh. I’m bringing up social media again. It never fails to provide me with food for thought and conversation.

I saw an Instagram reel in which two women mentioned the annoyance that they experience when moms think their children are special. They were laughing and joking about the matter, but there are a great many people who genuinely feel this way. It really got me thinking: what’s so humorous and annoying about a mother who thinks her kids are one-of-a-kind?

Earlier in the week, I had heard something similar. During a podcast episode on parenting, a mother discussed her close, child-free friends and how they felt about her children. She believed that they probably didn’t care about her kids and she was fine with that. I’ll be honest. I, too, used to roll my eyes when a parent expressed amazement at their children’s capabilities or choices. Once I became a parent, I realized that I had been letting my insecurity of feeling “left out” of motherhood fuel a negative attitude toward those who had what I wanted.

Here’s my take: it is perfectly OK if you don’t think my kids are special. I don’t expect you to! You don’t love them the way that I do and that’s not some big surprise. Yes, they’re only two of billions of other human beings that exist on this planet, but they are special. They’re special to me as their mother. They’re special to God, who created them in their uniqueness. Both of them have an individualized combination of traits and preferences that will lead them to live purposeful lives meant only for them. And yes, this is true of identical twins. Identical DNA does not equate to identical spirit and soul.

As mothers, we take pride in our children. Who would we be if we didn’t find each of our children to be worthy of awe? We know they’ll grow and learn the basics of human existence, but it’s still so beautiful to watch it happen incrementally. We value their lives and their contribution to the world. Even babies contribute to humanity by making strangers smile, parents evolve, and businesses flourish (I’m looking at you, formula and diaper companies). Every human being has a direct effect on another, thus making their existence valuable and special in its own right.

I’m not going to hide my appreciation and admiration of my kids around others, especially not my friends. They’re my friends because they would never expect me to. I won’t refrain from calling my children special simply because they live in a society that enjoys breaking mothers down. My sole identity is not that of a mother, but that part of me sure is my favorite. The little beings that made that possible are special to me. I know yours are too.