To all you mothers out there — we hope you had a wonderful, blessed Mother’s Day weekend. And to all you for whom Mother’s Day was a triggering day, a day of grief, pain, sadness…our hearts and thoughts were with you. Mother’s Day is an important, special holiday, but it is equally important to remember and honor those for whom the day is about what was, what isn’t, or what cannot be. Not to mention all those who may not be mothers, but who give their lives daily to care for others. This day is for you, too.
In the spirit of family, here are links that grabbed our eye this week, ones that made us think and want to share them with you.
This is a very important article from Adoptive Families about your child’s medical history and how it can influence development. What should you know?
Wow. What an amazing letter to adoptive mothers. We are so inspired by this. “I know about all those books you read back then. The ones everyone reads about sleep patterns and cloth versus disposable, yes, but the extra ones, too. About dealing with attachment disorders, breast milk banks, babies born addicted to alcohol, cocaine, meth. About cognitive delays, language deficiencies. About counseling support services, tax and insurance issues, open adoption pros and cons, legal rights. I know about the fingerprinting, the background checks, the credit reports, the interviews, the references. I know about the classes, so many classes. I know the frustration of the never-ending paperwork. The hours of going over finances, of having garage sales and bake sales and whatever-it-takes sales to raise money to afford it all.”
How did actually becoming a mom change the mom you always thought you would be? The wonderful Carrie Goldman from Portrait of an Adoption shares the many ways in which theoretical motherhood differs from actual motherhood, like all those times you said you wouldn’t swear in front of your kids, or waxed poetic about the wholesome meals they’d eat three times a day, seven days a week.
