Another Mother's Day

Oh, Mother's Day. At worst, a holiday designed to bolster our capitalist system, a reason for people to spend money on brunches and flowers and cards and chocolates and beautiful useless knick-knacks at boutique after boutique.  At best, a recognition of a tough, wonderful and important job: motherhood.

So happy mother's day to all the mothers out there.  All of them.

To the pregnant mothers who are so excitedly waiting for their baby, who can't wait to become mothers, painting nurseries and picking out breast pumps.
And the expectant mothers who are not pregnant by choice but are becoming mothers nonetheless, apprehensive and a little terrified of their soon to be changing life.
To the mothers who made the terribly difficult choice to end a pregnancy because they knew that they had to for whatever reason that they did.
To those who desperately want to become mothers and try and try though their bodies keep failing them (and those that are already mothers but want another or more children and try and try for that to happen with money and time and energy through disappointment and loss.)

Happy Mother's Day.

To the mothers whose babies came out of their bodies, who labored all night and sweat and breathed and pushed and tore.  Or were cut open and sewed back together.  And who held that new baby in their arms and called it their own.

And to the mothers whose babies came out of another woman's body, who thought and wished, and paid and planned and waited and waited and waited.  And who held that new baby in their arms and called it their own.

Happy Mother's day.

To the mothers who are raising their children alone.
To the mothers who left their partner because it was what they needed to do for themselves and their children.
To the mothers whose partner left them and they continued raising their children and going on even with broken hearts and diminished incomes.
To the mothers who raise children with their husbands.
To the mothers who raise children with their wives (who are wives/spouses/partners) in every sense of the word except the legal sense in so many states in this (hopefully changing) country of ours.

Happy Mother's Day.

To the mothers who work somewhere all day and then come home and work some more making dinner and cleaning up and bathing and parenting their children.
To the mothers who work all day and all night at home, making lunch and facilitating nap time and making dinner and cleaning up and bathing and parenting their children.

Happy Mother's Day.

To the mothers whose mothers are gone and to the mothers whose mothers are here..to all women who want to call their mother with questions about bug bites, and recipes, and confusing feelings and travel ideas...to those who cannot make that call and those who are lucky enough to be able to.
 
Happy Mother's Day.

To mothers who co sleep and wear their babies attachment parent.  And those who sleep separately from their children and use strollers and bouncy chairs.  To those who breast feed and those who bottle feed...to those who feed their kids all organic, vegetarian, all-natural diets and those who feed their kids whatever they can buy at the grocery store, McDonalds and Oreos. 

Happy Mother's Day.

To mothers who gaze at their children when they are asleep at night and those who breathe a sigh of relief to finally have time to themselves.  To mothers who have all the tools and support they need to make good, healthy choices for themselves and their children and to the mothers who don't have those tools or support.

To the all kinds of mothers all over the world who have one thing in common: Their children.  Their children who need them and want them and love them.  To those for whom comforting and nourishing comes naturally and for those who have to work at it.

To the mothers whose children have grown and the mothers whose children have died. To the mothers whose children are just being born and the mothers whose children are just growing up.

To all mothers.  Everywhere.  Happy Mother's Day.