Tribute to Mothers

Merriam Webster has five – yes 5- definitions for the word mother.

1a: a female parent b (1): a woman in authority; specifically: the superior of a religious community of women (2): an old or elderly woman

2: source, origin <necessity is the mother of invention>

3: maternal tenderness or affection

4 [short for motherf***er]sometimes vulgar: motherf***er

5: something that is an extreme or ultimate example of its kind especially in terms of scale <the mother of all construction projects>

In all honesty I couldn’t believe #4. Really? We have to put vulgar uses for words in the dictionary? I digress. 

The reason I put the definition in my blog is simple- nowhere does it state that you have to give birth to someone to be their mother. Nor should you have to birth someone to be their mother; prime examples, adoptive moms, step-moms and foster moms.  This select group of women work hard to raise someone else’s child or children and in all honesty its probably a lot harder to do than it is to raise your own..but again I digress.

There is another group of “mom’s” that we should not forget about either. It’s the extended family – the aunts, grandmas, neighbors, daycare providers, good friends –any person who shows “maternal tenderness or affection” toward your child is some sort of a mother.

Why do I take the time to define mother? Because I think some of these women get forgotten on Mother’s Day.  Just because a woman may not have a child of her own does not make her less of a mother and less worthy of receiving recognition and praise for being a mom on Mother’s Day.  But let us take this a step further. In a previous blog I noted that we shouldn’t wait to celebrate the people in our lives so why should we wait until Mother’s Day to celebrate the fantastic women in our lives??  We shouldn’t.  J But I am a realist- I know how busy we all are with our jobs, families, friends, etc…and its hard to make the time do celebrate the people we love as often as we want.  That being said please take some time this weekend to thank ALL the women in your life –not just the one that gave birth to you.  They all deserve it.

And to ALL the fantastic women in MY life – my daycare ladies (the names I can’t ever remember), Harvey’s doctor and my midwife (Dr. Elwine and Chillon) my friends in and out of work, both near and far (the Heathers, Sandi, the Jens, Mindy, and others who will remain nameless), my sisters-in-law (Steph, Amanda, Rachele, Rene and Laura), mothers-in-law (Connie and Linda) and especially my mom, Linda– THANK YOU!!!  You all helped shape me into the mom I am today.