Happy Mother's Day

What is a mother? A mother is a special person who cares for a child (even adult child) and loves that child more than themselves. She may or may not have given birth to a child but the love she feels is just the same. A mother is someone who will listen when you are having a bad day, wipe your tears when you cry, put a bandage on a skinned knee, sit up all night with you when you are sick, worry about you even when you are happy and doing well. A mother is someone whose love is unending and who will go to the ends of the world for their child.

NBC and Teleflora have done a search for the favorite Mom in America. While the contest was meant to be fun and enjoyable, it turned into a contest that insulted and hurt thousands of women and their children. It called a category "non-mom" and placed a woman's story there simply because her children came to her through adoption rather than birth.

The contest later changed the category to "adoptive" but the hurt and pain lingers. To separate adoptive mothers out due to how they have their children is to say they are not equal to mothers who gave birth to their children. To include grandmothers in an "other" category is to say their relationship with their grandchildren is not as respected as a mother by birth. Anytime mothers are separated into categories based on the make-up of their families is going to cause people to see some as less than others. It may not be the intention of the contest but it is the result. It also should not have taken thousands of emails to have the "non-mom" category changed. The person who named the category should have been more sensitive and educated in different families. The supervisor who approved the contest should have seen the hurt and pain it would cause.

A mother can be many different types of people. It may be a lesbian raising a child in a two mom family. It may be a grandmother, aunt, sister, friend or foster parent who loves the child and cares for the child. Who calls the child her "own." It may be a woman who gave birth to a child or adopted a child. A mother may not even be a woman. It could be a single father who is trying his best to raise his child and provide both the traditional mother and father roles to the child.

To all of those children in our world who do not have a mother or even a family, I pray that you find one soon. Whether it be a woman you call Mom or just an adult who will love you unconditionally and call you family, I pray that you know his/her love soon.

The following message is for everyone who fits any of the above categories or someone who feels like a parent but I did not mention and those people hoping and praying to become mothers or fathers soon.

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!!!!!!