The word - mother. Is it a noun, a verb, a status? On this Mother's Day, let's investigate this word.
When I look up the definition of 'mother', I find a variety of information.
- "One's female parent."
- "A female who has given birth to offspring."
- "To give origin or rise to."
- "A female parent of an animal."
- "A structure, such as a mother cell, from which other similar bodies are formed."
- "A stringy slime containing various bacteria that forms on the surface of liquids undergoing acetous fermentation."
- "A person or thing that is very large, powerful, or impressive."
- "To nurture, protect, etc. as a mother."
Everyone associates Mother's Day with someone who has given birth to children. In my case, that wasn't to be. I remember when I worked as a nurse in Labor & Delivery, we were trying to get pregnant. Pregnancy seemed to happen to everyone else but never to me. We sought out infertility options, I had surgery, but in the end, we took a different avenue.
On this day, I've always been sensitive to those who don't have children where we celebrate those who do. Maybe it's because my becoming a mother didn't follow what you might call "the natural path". When I was a child, there was a woman who lived just down the street and around the corner who didn't have children. She became a mother to every child in our neighborhood. It was her instinct to nurture us and we all loved her.
In 1988, I became a mother to two boys through adoption from South Korea. My boys were not newborns - which to this day knocks out all birthday cards that start "When I first held you in my arms..." or "When you were just a baby...". They were 4 and 5 years of age and arrived walking, running, climbing and talking a different language! Yep. We went from 0 to 2 active children overnight! I was all of a sudden a 'mother'. Not a birth mother. Not a biological mother. I was an adoptive mother.
To me, I've always been a 'mother'. I've always been one to take care of others. Others includes a whole host of things - house plants, pets, friends, sourdough starter (see definition #6 above), etc. The definition that I associate more with being a mother is the last one above - "To nurture, protect, etc. as a mother." To me, that about sums it up. I might add just one thing to that definition - "To nurture, protect, to love unconditionally, etc. as a mother."
So, in summary of this day --- Happy Mother's Day to all women who "mother" children, neighbors, friends, those in need, pets, plants, gardens, yourselves, etc. Today celebrates Mothers and those who "mother". That mother spirit - that nurturing spirit - that is so giving of self to others. This is OUR day!!
(Photos: The photo above is of our new family in 1988. Mother's Day that year was one week following the boys' arrival from South Korea. You can see the English/Korean Dictionary peeping out of Andy's shirt pocket! The photo below is of my Momma and me taken this morning to record this day for us.)
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