on being the second mom

As Mother's Day draws near, i want to extend a personal Mother's day wish to all the moms in the nest. but i especially want to express my thoughts on the moms who never gave birth, be they a step-mom or an adoptive mom, or even a foster mom.

the one greatest influence in my life was my foster mom. some of you may know her name as she wrote 47 children's books that were published. To Doris B Smith, my foster mom who has gone on. her legacy is a legend of offering unconditional love and caring, nurturing to more than 33 different foster children. she was the wisest woman i have ever known and touched my life at the impressionable tender age of 14 and to this date, i still call her mom. what a fantastic influence she was in my life and i so often ask myself what turns my life would have taken had i not entered her home on that cold january morning in 1973.

i myself am a childless mom. i have been mom to more than 25 but mother to none. yet i feel just as complete as the woman who might have given birth to all the children her heart desires. many of these children now honor me when they choose to call on me when they need advice or if they are troubled by some crisis in their lives. four even opted to spend Mothers day with me instead of their own birth-mother. What a privelege and honor!

so, moms who are out there thinking that Mother's Day is JUST another day...its YOUR special day too. Hats off to you all!