We are all mothers today.
We all mother.
Even if you are a childless man, you mother.
If you are a moody teenager, you mother.
All of us nurse, protect, cherish and tend to the people we love in this world.
At least, we should. And THAT is what this weekend is reminding us. To mother.
Sure, take your mom to brunch if that's what she really wants. But today is not about seafood omelets or exclusivity. Today is about celebrating mothering. Let's minister to the sick, defend the weak, nurture the young, the old, the poor.
In recent years, I have seen women crying on Mother's Day, weeping openly during the "Ave Maria," or muffling sobs in contemplative prayer. Last year, a friend told me Mother's Day was when she missed her mom the most. Of course, it is a day to remember, reflect and pay homage to the women who birthed us. But we need not leave it there.
Mother's Day can also be an occasion to check ourselves. Do we mother our neighbors, our friends, our co-workers enough? Do we nourish, tend and enrich others on this planet the way we should? The way our mothers taught us to?
That's right... mothers. Those who birthed us AND all those Other Mothers -- the many men and women, both young and old, who held our hands and guided us along the way.
I am blessed to have many Other Mothers. I have auntie-mothers, and boss-mothers, and sister- and brother-mothers. I have a father-mother, and a grandma-mother, and a former-next-door-neighbor-mother. I have had teacher-mothers and student-mothers. I even have a husband-mother. And, of course, a mother-mother.
Let's all be mothers today. Definitely call your mom. Give her your love. Chances are, if you are close, you do this all the time anyway. But call one of your Other Mothers today, too. Don't weep because you have lost someone. Well, you can do that, but don't let it be the only thing you do today. Thank an Other Mother. Let that person know that he/she loved you, led you, nourished you, and mothered you. And that you are always there to mother them right back. Pay it forward and backward today. Let Mother's Day be Mothers Day, and let it heal.
Be the mother all your mothers taught you to be.