Mother's Day

If you're happy to be alive, then today is your opportunity to thank someone for the fact. If you carry warm memories of a favorite comfort food, then today's the day to say thanks to the cook. If you were fortunate enough to have someone keep you clean, make certain you were warm, look to see your shoes were on the proper feet, to make certain your hair was combed and your part was straight, then today is your opportunity to thank someone for being so concerned.

If she's passed on you can be grateful you did have someone who cared. Take a moment and say thanks to the universe, the Lord, to the gods of good fortune, that such a person was in your life to care for you when wanted and when needed-- to look after you even when you didn't feel it was needed!

If she doesn't exist in memory then you'll have to take it from me: Being a mother is far more than a biological circumstance. It is a responsibility one takes on for life. Sometimes by choice, sometimes by accident, sometimes by circumstance, sometimes by proxy. In any event, it is a role that is never retired, a role that never allows time off, a role that is never done well on a part time basis. And the pay is, well, let's just say personal and variable. We can all be grateful, no matter our personal circumstance, for the mothers who have done it so well for so many. The love and humanity that exists in our lives is largely the product of good mothering.

I don't know what it's like to be a mother. But I do know what it is to have one. To all of you who have taken on the role and who wear it so well, Happy Mother's Day!