You Don’t Have to Give Birth to be a Mother

I am lucky to still have my mother in my life. She will be 87 next month and is still going strong, living very independently with my 97 year old father in their own home…this a real gift. Most of my contemporaries have lost one parent, or both. Or if they do have them, many are infirmed.

However, many people grow up without benefit of having a birth mother in the strictest sense. But there are those people who come into our lives to help raise us and rescue us when a birth mother is absent for various reasons. It could be an older sister, a loving aunt, a grandmother, a stepmother or just a devoted friend who mentors you over the years. And many of those women are childless who step into nurture us and care for us…that’s called mothering, too.

So, this Mother’s Day, remember all the wonderful women in your life who have stepped in to help raise you and guide you to where you are today.

Here is a photo of me with my mother, daughter and my granddaughter…four generations in 2006. How fortunate I am.

Who are the women in your life who have help care for you?

 Happy Mother’s Day!