Thanks to the wonders of social media, each Mother's Day I get to see hundreds of friends, co-workers, family and acquaintances on Facebook, Twitter and Google+ wish their mothers the very best; and each Mother's Day I am reminded of how my own mother was taken from me way too soon. Losing your mother at any age is tough, I imagine, but losing my mother before I had a chance to turn 30 or have children of my own was (and continues to be) especially difficult for me.
I have come to realize, however, that despite my loss, I have been extremely fortunate to have so many other great mothers and motherly figures in my life.
My sister Carmen has always been like a mother to me. She babysat my brother and I as kids. She wrote me letters and sent me money when I was in college. She took me out for my first legal beer after I turned 21. She's always been there for me and continues to be there for me, even as I'm nearing 40.
My stepmother, Audrey, always took care of us on the weekends when my brother and I would visit our dad. She was (and probably still is) a great cook and a good listener and she took good care of my father and kept him off our cases whenever he got in a particularly nasty mood.
My friend John's mother, Diane, was like a mother to me growing up. I practically lived at John's house after school and on the weekends and Diane always set a place for me at their dinner table and kept a box of my favorite cereal in their pantry for weekend breakfasts. I felt like family whenever I stayed in their home.
My sister Kelly, my sister Lee Ann, my Aunt Joan, my Grandma Murphy...all great mothers and mother figures for me growing up. I've watched my friends from High School and College become mothers over the years and I've enjoyed seeing the joy and happiness they get from being parents.
My mothers-in-law, Judi and Linda, both welcomed me into their families with open arms and, despite my faults, loved me like their own sons. Mothers really are wonderfully forgiving, aren't they? A mother's love makes the world go 'round.
Finally, I am thankful for my wife, Heidi...a mother to be. We are expecting our first child in the next month or two and I couldn't be happier. I know she will be a great mother, because she already is.
I guess what I'm trying to say is "thank you" to all of the great mothers in my life! I miss my mother, but I feel so lucky to have (and have had) so many other great mothers help me make it through these past 40 years...
Happy Mother's Day!
