Happy Mother's Day!

In a sea of stress and grief and turmoil, may today be a small island of comfort. Happy Mother's Day ... to my wonderful mom ... and to all the other mom's out there.

When you're small, you don't think of your parents as people. Think about it ... mom was just mom. She wasn't a woman with ups and downs ... she didn't get frustrated or hurt ... she was just mom.

Then I married a man with three children and, at that moment, it was like the veil was lifted from my eyes. My mom had been a person all these years. There must've been days when she was tired and would've rather crawled back in bed. There must've been days where I said something and hurt her feelings but she never said a word. I just never saw it.

So nine years ago, I picked up the phone and told her ... thank you for all the stuff you did that I never even realized you were doing. Thanks for getting up early and making lunches for me ... thanks for washing load after load of cloths ... thanks for running me to the mall at a moment's notice. And every year since then, I tell her thanks ... because she basically put herself aside for so many years so I could have a happy childhood ... and never once complained.

If you're a mom ... you are appreciated ... even if your kids don't tell you yet. Someday, they'll be making lunch for their little one and they'll suddenly realize all you did for them. And, hey, this counts for you single fathers too ... who are doing the same things but getting even less credit.

Happy Mother's Day ... I hope it's a peaceful, wonderful day for us all.