A Celebration of Mothers

I'm sending a call-out to all  of you because we've all had mothers. Some mothers are wonderful - we think about them and it's almost like a perfect Disney family - smiling children, caring parents, a pet or two and, of course, the swooping and singing birds. Other parents aren't the greatest at parenthood. In some cases, parents should never have been allowed the responsibility of raising a child, or even a parakeet. Still - all of us have mothers and this weekend is Mother's Day here in the USA.

Mom was a real beauty and Dad always treated her like
a Queen. If it was within his power, he would get her
anything she wanted. In that small person (she was
only 5' 2") was a backbone of steel. She was a strong,
capable and amazing woman. 

I am fortunate. I had two mothers - one who gave birth to me and immediately gave me up, and one who saw a baby as an opportunity to shower someone with love, sunshine and possibilities. I never met my birth mother, but I'm totally OK with that. If I had been born in the USA, I might have tried to examine the records and discover who my birth mother was, but for a foreign birth - much more difficult.

Like most adoptees, I've thought about looking for my mother. My cousin hunted for her birth parents, found them, and they wanted nothing to do with her. On the other hand, my niece hunted for her birth mother, found her, and discovered an extended family and a racial identity that has made her life richer and more expansive since then. My husband never bothered hunting for his birth mother, even though he was locally born and could probably have discovered his origins fairly easily. But I never bothered - a foreign mother and an adoption from the years when records were closely guarded and never released - I think it would be too much digging and not really worth the effort.

I had a mother - I had two. They both loved me, they both matter, they're both in my heart. I'm grateful beyond words for my birth mother because her actions allowed me to have my adoptive mother - a talented, loving, brilliant woman I was, and still am, proud to call MOTHER. Celebrate your mother this weekend, even if you live outside of the United States. Mothers need more than a single day. Those who are actually acting as compassionate, loving caregivers deserve celebration every day.

Have a wonderful weekend, I'll be back on Monday! I'm off to swim.