Mother's Day and Birth Mother's Day

I had such a wonderful Mother's Day this year. Last year's was very special since it was my first, but I think this Mother's Day was special in a different way. I have had an entire year to be a mom---an entire year to figure out how to actually be a mom. I earned my Mother's Day this year! I don't think that anyone can prepare you for the challenges of motherhood, but they also can't prepare you for the profound joy and happiness that comes from being a mom. It is incredible how much joy I feel having Liam as my son. He is a blessing and a miracle.

Anthony spents hours and hours making me a book that included photos of me and Liam from the last year.  It was nearly 50 pages full of memories of us. It was amazing, and made me cry. I swear, this hubby of mine gets sweeter and more thoughtful with each passing year!

 

We went to church and heard wonderful talks on motherhood. Some of the talks focussed on how not every woman gets the opportuniy to have children and be a mom in this life. I am always very aware of how difficult Mother's Day can be for some women. I work as an adoption caseworker, so many of my clients are adoptive couples which means they have had some struggle with infertility, making it difficult/impossible to have children. I can only imagine how devastating infertility can feel to some people, especially women, because I feel like women are hardwired to want children and to be a mother. After 4 years of working in the field of adoption, I have had countless conversations about infertility, the desire to grow families, and the hopes of adoptive mothers to become mothers. I think adoptive mothers are some of the strongest women I know. So if this day is hard for you, and you don't feel like going to church to hear the talks on Mother's Day, and you'd rather sit home and cry, then I say go for it. People don't get it. But you do. And you are often in my thoughts and prayers, as well as many other's.

Mother's Day is also a time where my thoughts are turned to birth mothers. Again, having worked in adoption for 4 years, I have worked with many strong and wonderful birth mothers. Girls who have wracked their heart and soul, questioned what was best, made hard decisions for the best interest of their child, put their baby's needs ahead of their own, suffered grief and pain, and placed their sweet baby with an adoptive family. Birth Mothers are women to be celebrated and remembered. So I am glad that the Saturday before Mother's Day is Birth Mother's Day. It is a day to honor all of the wonderful birth mother's who placed their child for adoption.

I went to the annual Adoption Walk this Birth Mother's Day at the Provo High track. Adoptive parents, birth parents, adoptees, and those touched by adoption were in attendance. We all had a balloon and walked around the track in honor of birth mothers. Then we released the balloons into the sky. Liam cried when we made him release his balloon. I think he was confused why we made him let go of a perfectly good balloon! haha Cosmo was there, the fire trucks were out so kids could walk though and play in them, yummy doughnuts and juice enjoyed by everyone. It was a great day, and I hope that people everywhere realize how special and strong birth mothers are.