For you, on Mother's Day

My dear, sweet mamas,

Today is for you.

For you, the mama whose arms ache from all the children who cling to her,

and for you, the mama whose arms ache from their emptiness.

For you, the mama whose babies are tiny and never let her have a moment of rest,

and for you, the mama whose babies are bigger than her and, yet, she still doesn't get a full night's sleep.

For you, the mama with one child,

the mama with more kids than adults in her house,

the mama who drives a 15-passenger van to cart all her children,

and the one who loves babies she does not get to raise.

For you, the mama who trusts someone else to care for her babies while she works, and sometimes feels like she's missing out on their lives,

and for you, the mama who spends her days working for her babies, and sometimes feels like she's missing out on her own life.

For you, the mama for whom motherhood was an easy transition,

and for you, the mama who struggled (and maybe still does).

For you, the mama whose babies were part of her plan,

and for you, the mama who had some tiny surprises change her plans.

For you, the mama who wonders if she waited too long,

and for you, the mama who wonders if she is too young.

For you, the mama who conceived with ease,

the one who needed a little help,

and the one who has struggled without end.

For you, the mama with a loving partner,

the mama who is flying solo,

and the mama whose family is wonderfully unconventional.

For you, the mama who relies on her own mama(s),

and for you, the one whose mama is gone from her life.

For you, the natural birth mama,

the all the drugs mama,

the c-section mama,

the home birth mama,

the mama whose birth didn't go according to plan,

and the mama who did not birth her babies.

For you, the mama who raises the children she carried,

the one who carried babies but does not raise them,

the one who raises babies she did not carry,

the one who raises babies for a season,

and the one who is waiting for babies to fill her home.

Today is for you.

May you find peace.

May you find joy.

May you find comfort.

And, my dear mamas, may you feel your babies' love.