Happy Mothers Day

I wanted to write an open letter to all the mothers that I know. Just sitting here this morning and thinking about this thing we do called mothering and what it is all about.

It is an immense joy to be a mother, though it sometimes brings tears and sadness. But the greatest thing is that no matter what, we have given birth, we have created life, we have loved and cared for our children. We create history with our children. When we give birth, we never know what our children will grow up to be, but it doesn´t matter, we just love them. Then there are the mothers who though they didn't give birth, give just as much love. Whether adoptive mothers or step-mothers, or foster mothers, the love and attention they offer the children of the world in their care, is no less than if they had given birth.

Sitting on the bus recently, I had the good fortune to be able to listen to a little girl, about 4 years old, just singing her heart out. That sure brought a smile to every face on the bus. The day before that, it was a little boy, all excited about being on the bus, shouting out all the cool things that he was seeing while we rode along. Makes you look out the window and see things the way he was seeing them. Those were the kind of moments I remember the most about my own children. Seemed like they were always singing or chatting away about the "fabulous stuff" we were seeing. I like to cherish the memories of the small but happy things that we shared. Stopping by the pet store window every day on the way to the store, just to ooh and aah over the cute bunnies and guinea pigs, stopping to watch construction workers do exciting things with cool machines, running to the window every time it had rained and the sun came out, just to check and see if there was a rainbow, coloring together for 6 hours on an airplane, playing Candyland, making up songs about brushing teeth or our address. Those are also the things that make my heart fill with joy.

Every once in a while, I find tucked away amongst my things, a little picture drawn by my son or a note with a rainbow drawn on it from my daughter, both of them with "I love you Mommy" on them. These are the most precious things that I own. If my house caught on fire, I would want to save them as much as any photos I have. All it takes is to hold that note in my hand and the memory of them giving it to me floods my soul with the sweetness of it all. The very true and pure love of a child. This is truly the most exquisite feeling in the whole world for me.

So on this day that we are to celebrate being mothers, I wanted to acknowledge this wonderful, bond of motherhood we all share with each other. This is the day to give thanks that we were born women.

With love to all of you for all you do,
Jo