Why we should wish every person a Happy Mother's Day!

Motherhood changes us, that much is certain, but how we define motherhood is up for discussion. I always say Happy Mother's Day to everyone I meet on this day (granted, this year that is a significantly reduced number).

Here's my thinking. It would be wonderful to say that the fairy tale is true and that every child is born out of love, raised with love and shares love with the world. God, I wish we could have that world, but I recognize that it is a life that some are privileged to have and others can only dream of. When we fostered, we had children who didn't know the meaning of love and were suspicious of that mantel "mother". Innocence was destroyed for these kids and my heart ached for them.

I remember asking my mother once how she could handle being a foster mother, when it broke her heart to see the horrors that precious children dwell in. She told me that if we can give them even a moment of joy, a moment of love, a moment of safety so they can cling to that and try to have that again in the future, then it is worth the pain and heartache that goes with it.

So motherhood to me does encompass the love of a mother, a mother to be, a heavenly angel mother, a surrogate mother, a step-mother, an adopted mother, a foster mother, a special needs mother, a fur mother, an honorary mother (sometimes called 'Aunt', 'Godmother'). But motherhood is so much more than that.

Motherhood is the act of creation. Motherhood is the work of nurturing. Motherhood is the journey through powerful and life altering emotions such as compassion, empathy and a whole lot of patience. Everyone can and is a mother in some form, and I would hope we can see past gender here. We all came from mothers and by the grace of God (or Allah, or whichever power you believe or don't believe it), we all have the power to mother.

What do I mean we all have the power to mother? We have the power to care. We have the power to grow a relationship. We have the power to nurture our friendships. We have the ability to create joy in the lives of others. We can all celebrate being mothers in one way or another.

I am blessed to be a Momma in the most traditional sense of the word and my children are my world. I am also grateful to be born from one heck of a strong Momma and lucky enough to be daughter in law to another incredibly strong Mom. I have amazing friends who are amazing Mommas. I celebrate themBut I hope everyone, and I mean everyone, knows that whether they have born children from their womb or not, everyone has a right and a reason to celebrate today. Happy Mother's Day everyone.