For the Mothers

For some people, Mother’s Day is a day for flowers, chocolate, homemade cards and breakfast in bed - one day a year to thank mom for all that she does. For others, it can be painful - painful for several reasons.

I wanted to take a moment to speak to the mothers, all of them.

To remind you all that you are loved and valued every day of the year.

The mothers who delivered vaginally or via cesarean.

The mothers who breastfed or bottle fed.

The single mothers.

The adoptive mothers.

The widowed mothers.

The mothers who stayed home.

The mothers who went back to work.

The mothers who are navigating the reality of a global pandemic and homeschooling.

The mothers trying to work from home with their family.

The mothers who lost their baby.

The mothers whose babies no longer live at home.

The mothers who don’t speak with their child.

The people longing to become a mother.

The single dads who are rocking both roles.

The grandparents who love like parents.

The people caring for their mother.

The stepmothers who’ve welcomed in and loved kids as their own.

The parents who are looking out for the friends of their children.

The fur mothers.

The people who are raising a sibling.

The foster mothers who have opened their homes.

The aunts and uncles who always go above and beyond.

The work mothers who care for a colleague like a child.

The estranged mothers who are currently in shelters or prisons.

The people who have lost their mothers.

The people who have never had a mother.

Regardless of who you are or what Mother’s Day means to you, I want you to know that you are not forgotten.

No two families are the same. We live in a world with a wide variety of stations and stories, and each one of them matters.