One Mother's Thoughts on Mother's Day

Mothers don't want things for Mother's Day. We don't want flowers or jewelry, and we especially don't want candy! We don't need or want tangible tokens of appreciation for rearing our children and providing them a home. We don't want our children to spend their money on disposable things for Mother's Day. We want them to invest their money in their own future or donate that money to a worthy cause.

Mother's Day is a great day to donate money to the Nothing But Nets campaign (http://www.nothingbutnets.net/) to help fight malaria, which is a leading killer of children in Africa. Mother's Day would be a fine time to make a contribution to Mothers Against Drunk Driving (http://www.madd.org/), or to fight poverty all over the world by donating to one.org (http://one.org/#) in honor of or in memory of one's mother. Mothers want the world to be a better place for their own children, but also for all children.

Celebrating Mother's Day is ideal opportunity to go a homeless shelter and invite a homeless mom and her children to breakfast. Take them somewhere nice. Take them where you would have taken your mother. Mother's Day is also a wonderful time to stop by a nursing home or assisted living facility and ask if you can visit a mom who doesn't have anyone coming by to see her.

Mother's Day is a time when every woman in a person's life should be honored, thanked, and celebrated. My children have both had many surrogate mothers in their lives. Some of those surrogate moms were teachers at school who took extra time to help them with a problem or a school issue. Some of their "other mothers" were parents of their friends who kept an open door and open mind. Some of those surrogate moms don't have children of their own, or lost their own children. All of them were important to my children. These women should also be celebrated on Mother's Day. The women who didn't bear my children, but certainly nurtured and cared about my children, are the ones who deserve a card and a thank you on Mother's Day too.