Mother's Day

I would like to wish a Happy Mother's Day to my mom and mother-in-law, and to all my friends and other family members with children.

Tomorrow in my ward, all the women age 18 and over will receive some kind of treat to celebrate Mother's Day. Sometimes it's a flower, or some cookies. One year we got huge chocolate bars. Either way, it's a day to recognize mothers (whether they're raising their own children or someone else's) and the young women who will one day be mothers.

It's also the day that the childless women probably dread and stay home so they don't have to deal with it. I can't escape it this year. My mother-in-law is giving a talk, which means that I get to take grandma to the bathroom and back. And I can't escape afterwards, because I teach the Sunbeams (3-4 year olds). The rest of the day is out as well, as we have our monthly family home evening, which will undoubtedly be centered on Mother's Day. Since the husb is making an effort to be with his family, I have to be there, too. I don't know if I'll get a chance to see my mom, but I'm hoping I can at least drop off the card and flowers I have for her. I would love to stay and have dinner with my family, but I don't know if that'll happen or not.

Celebrating Mother's Day gets harder as the years go by. Five years ago, it was no big deal. We'd been married a couple months and were looking forward to our life together. Now we're hardly farther along than we were when we first started. Really, it's not that I don't have kids and others do. It's that I thought that after five years of marriage, we'd at least be looking forward to starting our family. This fibromyalgia has made it difficult for us to do anything to get on our feet. My hope is that all the waiting will make me a better mother than I otherwise would have been had my husband not developed fibromyalgia.

I'd also like to recognize those who have either lost their mothers or whose mothers weren't a positive force in their lives. I can think of three of my friends who are probably having a hard time feeling like they can celebrate Mother's Day without their mothers.

To those of us who don't fit the "Happy Mother's Day" mold, may I wish you all a Happy Strong Women's Day.