My mom’s name was Shirley. When I came across this book several years ago, I had to buy it. Faithful Shirley. She was that and so much more. I miss her every day.
A day of mixed feelings. I’m grateful for my wonderful mom. I wish I could have known Don’s mother, but she died before we met. So many people have complicated relationships with their mothers. So many people didn’t have a mother who was part of their daily life. So many people yearning to be a mother. And on and on.
I didn’t particularly want children – I was a late bloomer, heading off to graduate school at the age of 30 – life became very, very busy after that and even if I had wanted to have children, there was no time. I’ve always believed that the decision to have a child must be taken very seriously and I didn’t want it enough. I had my motherhood urges fulfilled by my relationships with my many students and by my beloved dogs and I’m very grateful.
I want to pay tribute to my sister who is a devoted and fierce mother to 3 sons. I stand in awe of her. Her two oldest sons dealt with serious issues while growing up and she fought for them every day. She never gave up. As adults, both of them are strong, kind, good, smart and successful – in life and in love and in simply being decent human beings. And of course, there’s Little Z – I don’t know what would have happened to him if Mere hadn’t been his therapist, almost since birth. She fell in love with him – as did the rest of the family. She fights for him every day. And he thrives because of that.
You can have no greater advocate than my sister.
I love her more than I can say. Her sons adore her. They know how lucky they are.
So Happy Mother’s Day to my sister. And to all of you who are moms, whether of human beings or animals. To all of you who miss your mothers: I’m with you. I understand. To those who have lost children, my heart is with you today. My parents deeply mourned the loss of my brother. Watching them try to cope with that loss was heartbreaking. They never fully recovered from it.
I could go on and on.
I hope your day today is exactly what you want it to be.
Stay safe.
Happy Sunday.
peace, safety and finding many reasons for joy to all …
kathy
xoxo
Stay safe, Kathy.
A beautiful post and a lovely tribute to your sister, Claudia.
Take Care,
Kaye
Park City, UT
Thank you, Kaye.
Stay safe.
Thank you for the beautiful post today.
You’re most welcome, Cathy.
Stay safe.
Awww… mother died at 60, and I miss her every day…1992… she was a teen mom…I started dating my love right before age 16…we waited u til he graduated college and married the next day…we wanted children from day one. Fertility drugs got us a boy and a girl…losing one in the middle…I spent the pregnancies in bed and hospitals fed intravenously…we were told they would most likely not be “perfect”. They were miracles…valedictorians of their classes and college and law school
But most Important of all good kids always
They have been my reason for living
The three of us graduated college within one year
One in Indiana one in Texas and yours truly in WV
I went on to do a Masters at almost 60
Son law school
I am thankful for my two and my five delightful grands from age 22-7.. all miracles… I don’t believe that one can truly understand until one is a parent so totally feel for your parents…
I do believe that even though women might not birth children they can be moms to many…they are important…
Happy Mother’s Day to you and your sister…
Brenda I was truly touched by your post
Yes being a parent is a huge sacrifice but God has blessed your life mightily
Thank you…my miracles…
Lovely, Brenda.
A blessed and happy Mother’s Day to you.
Stay safe.
Thank you for the beautiful post, Claudia. Mother’s Day is always bittersweet for me as I have two living children and one in heaven. And of course I miss my Mom everyday. (She died in 2004).
Sending you a hug, Carol.
Stay safe.
Mother is a verb even more than a noun. Blessings to all of you who nourish and support others. We are in this all together!
We are.
Thank you, Roxie.
Stay safe.
Happy Mother’s Day, dog mom. :)
Thanks so much, Chris.
Stay safe.
Claudia, your beautiful post brought tears to my eyes.
Happy Mother’s day to all.
Thank you, Marilyn.
Stay safe.
your post is so right in everything. One thing we should remember, motherhood is not for everyone. Too bad our laws don’t recognize that reality.
Fight for Roe V Wade!!
Yes!
Thanks, Jan.
Stay safe.
I can only chime in with everyone else – Beautiful posting today. Absolutely thankful for your nurturing me & others through your postings and notes. Your sister is indeed a fabulous Mother as are you.
Thank you for your kind words, Martha.
Stay safe.
This is beautiful, Claudia. I can only imagine how much you miss your mother. I am still fortunate and blessed to have mine here on earth.
I adore your sister, too even though I’ve not met her in “real life”. Just from her blog, our personal correspondence, and from you talking about her, I *know* she’s a truly wonderful, compassionate, lovely human being.
Thank you for saying that your heart is with those of us who have lost a child. As you know, I lost my oldest son in September 2009 at the age of 21. I will never be the same person. Even though I still have my youngest son, Mother’s Day is very hard for me.
xoxo
Prayers Melanie…there is nothing as heartbreaking as losing a child…
Thank you.
Thinking of you, Melanie, and sending my love. I know this day is painful for you.
Stay safe.
Thank you so much, Claudia.
xoxo
Mother’s Day …. Mothering Day.
I love our kids dearly, and our DIL and our sweet little granddaughter, and our current dog and all those that came before her, and our current cat and those before him. We can mother fur babies, and feather babies, and as I watch our granddaughter, little plastic and cloth babies, too. So many of us mother our plants and trees. Mothering is a verb, as someone else said. It is not unique to only those who give birth. And it is fun to see it develop and come to be in wee-ones.
I hope everyone had a lovely day no matter how you celebrated ~ staying home with the family, or part of the family, or going out to a fancy brunch or lunch. At age two, I said it would’t be fun for anyone to do the fancy things. Many years ahead for that! So, the highlight of my day was when the little one took off her shoes and ran down our driveway in her socks, laughing and screeching as she did so, with a fist full of Dandelions. Hope everyone made some memories today!!
So happy you got to spend the day with your granddaughter, Chris! What a blessing.
Stay safe.
What a beautiful, thoughtful, compassionate post, Claudia. Bravo. It moved me.
Thank you, Vicki.
Stay safe.
What a beautiful post, Claudia. And from what I know of your sister and her blog (which I’ve sorely missed but understand the craziness of schedules and work and family) she deserves those good wishes, a hundred fold.
I miss my mom more than I can say. Mother’s Day isn’t my favorite. I was lucky, though, that Rick shared his guys with me and now the grandlittles. This year, they all remembered, which was a treat. And, there was loads of other stuff to think about yesterday with Jerry’s visit — I’ll email you a photo when I get them downloaded and edited. It was a good visit with a good friend and you can’t beat that.
Glad you had a full day with Rick’s family and Jerry. Sounds like the perfect way to spend Mother’s Day.
Stay safe, Jeanie.