It is a COVID-19 kind of Mother’s Day. Wishing everyone a great day filled with love.
Photo Credit: LJ Smith
“All of us have special ones who have loved us into being.” – Fred Rogers
I found a website called “Undefining Motherhood” by Katy Huie Harrison (the link is provided below). On Mother’s Day I not only think of my mother, my step-mother, my grandmothers, and others I know who have experienced biological birth or adoption of children, I think of all the people (male or female) who, as the late Fred Rogers (Mr. Rogers) says “have loved others into being”. What Ms. Harrison writes about motherhood is in the spirit of Mr. Rogers quote. I hope you enjoy the excerpts from Ms Harrison’s web page below and have a chance to go to her site to read the entire piece.
Excerpts from “Undefining Motherhood”, by Katy Huie Harrison “What is a mother? You may think she’s a selfless, loving, patient, warm woman. She might be. But that’s not what makes a mother. ….
People who consider themselves mothers can be, even if they don’t meet the typical social definition.
In other words, having a child you’ve either birthed or adopted that people can see you caring for is not what makes you a mother.
The answer to “What is a mother?” is not “Someone who has birthed a child.” Period.
But to convince people of this truth, we need stories and experiences from people who mother differently. We need to see how someone can be a mother outside of our typical social constructs. …
People who mother the world are part of what makes a mother.
They’re mentors, foster parents, aunts.
They’re single dads, grandparents, nannies, and other caregivers.
They’re people who mother their own parents through sickness or old age.
They’re stepmothers, given a bad reputation in fairy tales, but who knowingly choose to take on a child as their own, often navigating tricky adult relationships along the way.
They’re teachers, nurses, aid workers, humanitarians, and everyone else who works to help people of the world can call themselves mothers if they feel like they are. …
I believe you can live your life without ever birthing or adopting or fostering a child, and you can still be a mother. …
If you make the world a better place for the sake of future generations, you can most certainly be a mother. If you feel like one.”
https://undefiningmotherhood.com/what-are-mothers
About Me: Life is precious, capture its beauty. I am lucky to have a loving family, and wonderful friends. Like everyone, I have good days and bad days, happy days and sad days, patient days and crabby days, beautiful days and ugly days, etc. I try to “hold the bright side up” as much as I can because it makes me feel better, and I think it helps others feel better too. I am so far from perfect, but I try to be kind and respectful. I truly believe that life is precious and that there are so many extraordinary ordinary people and moments in life. I want to share and celebrate the “extraordinary ordinary” through my writing and photography. Please check out my photos at Fine Art America Photography https://fineartamerica.com/profiles/35-laura-smith; at Adobe Stock at https://stock.adobe.com/contributor/207669601/Laura%20Jean%20Smith or at Shutterstock https://www.shutterstock.com/g/LauraJSmith. Perhaps you will find something you would like to have as your own?
