Celebrating All Mothers

On Mother’s Day, most of us will think of our mothers and hopefully be able to share a special meal with them, give them a card or even flowers or a gift. We will shower them with praise for all that they have done for us throughout the past year and throughout our lives and if you are one of the lucky ones, you will be celebrated as well.
If you no longer have your mother with you or perhaps, you never knew your mother, this special day can be a challenging one to get through. Although I celebrate all mothers on this day, I wish to dedicate this post to the “other” mothers that may not fit into our traditional definition of a mother. And I dedicate this post to those mothers who often get forgotten in the Hallmark sentiments, You tube videos and the television commercials.
I celebrate:

•  The mothers who, due to infertility or life circumstances, will never realize their dream of mothering but who have a heart worthy of this role.
• The mothers who never had a chance to know their child because of miscarriage or of perinatal loss in the first hours and days of life.
• The mothers who had their plans abruptly changed when they gave birth to a child with special needs and a mothering journey that was not at all what they had expected.
• The mothers who had to make the difficult decision to place their child up for adoption due to the reality or their belief that they would not be fit to mother the child they gave birth to.
• The mothers who adopted babies and children and gave them love and security when their biological parents could not.
• The mothers who mother their grandchildren because the biological mothers are unable to do so.
• The mothers who helped other women become mothers through surrogacy.
• The mothers who unnaturally outlived their child and who celebrate their memory on this day.
• The mothers who temporarily mothered the lost and forgotten children for a few days, months and even years through fostering.
• The stepmothers who love and raise the children who are not of their body but whom they love just the same with all of the challenges and hardships of step parenting.

May all of you feel acknowledged and honoured on this day. To you, I raise my glass.
Original article published in the Whitewater Cobden Sun newspaper May 4th 2011 edition