Like all too many women, through divorce or  marriage to men who were uninvolved fathers, I’ve raised my children mostly on my own.  Children raised without the opportunity to see their father cherish their mom sometimes don’t know how to observe Mother’s Day.

Over the years I’ve accepted the situation, but from time to time, when seeing other women being celebrated on their special day, I’ve felt wistful and even a teensy bit sorry for myself, until I  discovered that perfect antidote to self-pity: gratitude. If I’m not the recipient of lavish displays and shiny presents, I simply think of my true Mothers Day gifts.  So what if I don’t have that happily-ever-after life I dreamed of? Growing up, all I ever wanted to be was a mom with lots of kids. Well, I’ve got three exceptional sons who love me and four little ones I never got a chance to meet waiting for me in Heaven. What a treasure!  My three sons make me proud every day, just to be their mother, and they’ve given me beautiful, talented daughters-in-law and absolutely remarkable, precious granddaughters.  No flowers, breakfasts in bed or shiny trinkets could ever match my Mothers Day gifts, and I get to enjoy them every single day.

An attitude of gratitude is the miracle pill which cures almost all our emotional ills. As the Apostle Paul told us, we can choose to be content in our every circumstance, as long as we remember to be grateful.

Wishing all mothers, and all those who ever had a mother, a day you can be thankful for.