Celebrate All Mothers

Today is Mother’s Day, and I am happy to say that it was a sunny, beautiful day here in Michigan. Trees are blooming, and flowers are popping up all over, the perfect kind of day to celebrate. Spring is finally here, so I am optimistic about the summer ahead.

As I think about and celebrate Mother’s Day, I feel joy for children and parents that have healthy relationships and feel happy on this day of appreciation for Motherhood. I also feel empathy for those that do not have a reason to celebrate. Children that have lost parents or those that have poor relationships with their mothers. Many people may feel grief on this day.

I have two incredible children, which makes me a fortunate Mom indeed. They are why I do everything, and I would step in front of a bullet for them. I cannot imagine my life without my kids, and I know how blessed I am to have them. I also have an amazing mother (who would probably take a bullet for me), and today I got to spend Mother’s Day with her.

 

It would be a perfect world if all mothers felt loved the way I do, but sadly that is not the case. 

On this day, I want to offer support to and celebrate all mothers and all children of mothers that do not necessarily feel loved on this day in May. They are all superheroes regardless of their situations, so let’s honor all mothers today.

Let’s celebrate mothers like mine, who had their children as teenagers and raised them with their spouses while working multiple jobs to make ends meet. They raised children as they were growing up themselves, and they struggled to work or put themselves through college while staying committed to raising their families. 

Celebrate working mothers like me who juggle careers, run businesses, keep homes, and struggle with those nagging feelings of guilt that seem to come along with working Motherhood.

Celebrate birth mothers, like my husband’s, that gave up their children for adoption as infants hoping to gift them a better life than they had to offer. These mothers may have never gotten to know their children’s outcomes, and they spend their lives hoping that they did right by giving them up for adoption. 

Let’s also celebrate moms by adoption (also like my husband’s) who choose to adopt and raise a child that was not their own, loving and treating them like birth children, including stepmoms that marry into and run blended families. Stepmoms may share custody of their children with other moms, which adds another increased pressure. 

Celebrate mothers who suffer the loss of children to miscarriage, genetic defects, or birth accidents. They carry love for their unborn children and mourn them for life. Mothers of loss love their children as fiercely as if they held them in their arms and carry them forever in their hearts.

Let’s celebrate and support the mothers that lose children to accident, disease, or mental illness. Those moms are left with a hole in their hearts where their child once was, and they mourn that horrific loss for the rest of their lives. They miss the potential future they will never experience but hold on to precious memories of their beloved child.

Celebrate potential mothers. Those who long to raise children and cannot experience Motherhood for one reason or another. Potential mothers may take on the responsibility of mentoring children that are not their own, becoming mothers in their hearts.

And lastly, let’s celebrate the pet mothers. They are the people that give us our careers as veterinarians, and they share an unconditional love for the voiceless, dogs, cats, horses, birds, and other creatures that we adore. 

As this day comes to a close and passes, try to remember that mothers are superheroes without the cape. Please thank and celebrate all mothers, offer them the love and support they deserve, and thank them for all they do and all they are.

Happy Mother’s Day everyone! 

I love you, Mom!!

Dr. Julie Cappel

“[Motherhood is] the biggest gamble in the world. It is the glorious life force. It’s huge and scary – it’s an act of infinite optimism.” — GILDA RADNER.

“Making a decision to have a child–it’s momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body.” – ELIZABETH STONE.