THE WOMAN YOU CALL YOUR MOTHER

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY to my mother Pat; to my former mother-in-law Elaine, who is 100 years old; to my mother-in-law Ida, may she rest in peace; and my daughters, and daughter-in-law, and friends and family.  Our lives have been blessed!

This is my Aunt Gladys, who was my Godmother.  My parents chose her and my Uncle Olaf, (over 60 years before "Olaf" became such a popular name after Disney's "Frozen" film.) Uncle Olaf passed away when I was five, but the relationship I had with Aunt Gladys lasted 57 years.  I was truly blessed!

Perhaps you weren't blessed as I was to have a mother, and an aunt who was like a second mother to me.  Perhaps your relationship was stormy, or you have no memories of your real mother. Perhaps you have longed for, prayed to be a mother, but your prayers seem to go unanswered.

Or maybe you never wanted to be a mother at all.  I pray that there has been someone in your life who has been a mother to you, or that you can mother in return, if that is your desire.  And perhaps the only true motherly relationship you've had is with Mother God.

YOUR MOTHER is always with you. She's the whisper of the leaves as you walk down the street.  She's the smell of certain foods you remember, flowers you pick, the fragrance of life itself.  She's the cool hand on your brow when you are not feeling well.  She's your breath in the air on a cold winter's day.  She's the sound of the rain that hulls you to sleep, the colors of a rainbow, she is Christmas morning.  Your mother lives inside of your laughter.  She's the place you came from, your first home, and she's the map you follow with every step you take.  She's your first love, and your first friend, even your first enemy, but nothing on earth can separate you, not time, not space, not even death.
                                                                                                                                  --Unknown

May you who read this be blessed this day.