A Gift

We have a new baby in our home.  A n d . . . it's a baby sister.  Let me assure any one out there that is still in doubt - life truly is a gift!

I need to pay tribute to the four women that have made me a mother.

Today is Mother’s Day and my thoughts are with the four women that have made me a mother. My gratitude goes beyond words. I look at my children and think about how much they’ve brought to my life; how I get to do exactly what I want to do each day because they live with me; how there is no one that I would rather be with; how much I love them; and I can’t help but love their birthmothers.

It’s extraordinary to have these feelings about people I don’t really know. Although, it’s probably not any more extraordinary than the feelings I’ve had when our children were handed to me for the first time … disbelief, a little bit of shock, unbelievable gratitude, immediate love. I’m not sure that my feelings are any different from the feelings of mothers who give birth. The only difference is that I have these feelings because the mother that’s given birth has given me the reason for them.

Today is Mother’s Day and there is so much I want "our" birthmothers to know. I want them to know that there is never a day that goes by that I don’t thank God for these children. I want them to know that they are healthy. I want them to know that they are really, really good. I want them to know that they love each other so much.

I want to say that, “I love your child as much as you hoped I would. They know that they ‘grew in your tummy’ and they pray for you often, but especially on your birthday.”

Today is Mother’s Day and I want to be able to share my motherly happiness with the four mothers that have made me a mother. I never take for granted the 9 months that they mothered my children. They may be in my care for a longer period of time, but my time would never have been possible without theirs. I wish I could share some of the joy. My greatest hope is that they have peace about where their babies are.

I have peace about where my babies came from. I’ve had sadness that they didn’t grow inside of me, that I wasn’t able to give birth to them. Then I remember that if they had they wouldn’t be exactly who they are and I wouldn’t change that for anything. I like to imagine that if their birthmothers met them today that they would like their child, that they would be proud of their child and that they wouldn’t change anything.

Today is Mother’s Day, and really … it’s not any different than any other day.

Happy Mother's Day to all of the mothers out there!