Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day...in no particular order...

...to all women who have said "yes" to life in whatever form it's given to them...

...to my own mother, who was on bedrest for months before I was born, who poured so much love into me, who is irreplaceable...

...to my mother-in-law, who has borne so many crosses gracefully, who always has a smile and a kind word, who I thank for teaching my husband the faith...

...to my friends who are mothers, who are giving me a solid education in the art of motherhood, should I ever become a mother myself...

...to mothers who say "goodbye" to their child before they get to say "hello"...

...to my sister-in-law, who gave birth to healthy quadruplets even though the doctor wanted to "selectively reduce" one of my beautiful nieces or nephew...

...to mothers whose kids need a lot of extra care, time, and effort...

...to mothers who are celebrating their first Mother's Day today after a long journey of waiting...

...to women who are still waiting for a Mother's Day of their own...

...to women who haven't been blessed with physical motherhood but who give maternal care to the sick, the poor, the confused, the brokenhearted, the lost, the frightened, the lonely, and the hopeless...

...to women who see the great gift of motherhood so clearly that they submit themselves to blood draws and uncomfortable tests, to surgeries and injections, to the whole roller-coaster of TTC, all in the hopes of receiving a gift that so many others reject or dispose of...

...to women who haven't met the right man yet but want to be wives and mothers so badly...

...to mothers who look at their children and know there are some missing, some they never got to say "I love you" to, who they wait to see in heaven...

...to women who want so badly to be mothers but are dealing with a major illness, or poverty, or have an absent husband...

...to mothers who desire a sibling for their child...

...to elderly women who grieve their childlessness...

...to aunts who are "second mothers" to their nieces and nephews, who love them like they're their own...

...to godmothers who teach their godchildren about the faith, who guide them to Jesus...

...to adoptive mothers who give a home to a child without one, who accept their children as their own flesh and blood...

...to mothers who are told their unborn babies are sick...

...to everyone without a mother, whose mother has died or abandoned them...

...to everyone with a strained relationship with their mother...

...to the one perfect Mother, our Blessed Mother Mary, who is Mother to us all.

Happy Mother's Day.

+EcceFiat+