Mother's Day

Tomorrow is Mother's Day and I have a mish-mash of thoughts I want to mention here.

First, I am grateful to my own mom, who somehow managed to raise four kids on her own.  Way to go, Mom!

Second, I want to give a shout-out to some very special "moms."  Happy Mother's Day to all my single male friends who are being both Dad and Mom to their kids!   You guys are doing a great job at filling a role you probably never dreamed you'd have to fill.  I was especially impressed this evening when one of these dads mentioned that he wouldn't be taking his kids to church tomorrow, because a standard Mother's Day sermon would be painful for his son, who is still dealing with his mom's absence.  That kind of sensitivity tells me that this dad is being a great mom!

Which leads me to my third thought.  I am praying for all those who are mourning the loss of their moms this year.  My grandma was one of the most influential women in my life, and even though she has been gone for seven and a half years now, I still think of her often.  The littlest things call her to mind:  the sight of a cardinal, the sound of a hymn (I swear I can hear her singing along when we sing some of her old favorites!), the smell of vegetable beef soup, the taste of johnny marzetti, the feel of an elderly hand grasping mine at church.  I miss my Gram!

Thought number four:  I am so thankful for the blessing of being a mom.  There was a time in my life when I thought I would never want to have children, but thanks to my ex-husband, I changed my mind.  I am so glad I did!  These four wonderful people who call me "Mom" are the joy of my existence and sometimes my reason for going on when I really would rather give up. 

Along those same lines (so not sure if I should make this number five or not), I am grateful for my "extra" kids:  my friends' kids who consider me an extra mom, and my kids' friends who treat me as a mom.  (I have to give special recognition here to Rebecca, Alexis, Daniel, and Brian.)  I'm also grateful for those women who function as extra "moms" to my kids, particularly for "Mama Anks."  :-)

Last but not least (because it's either thought number five or six, depending on whether the previous thought was five or not), I am sad for those kids whose moms are not there for them.  I am saying a special prayer for them tonight!

Happy Mother's Day, my friends!