HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!

There is a little picture that sits on my old piano.  It's a tiny little picture of two women, both in dresses standing close together as if good friends.  They could be sisters - they resemble each other quite a bit; they are the same height, similar in stature... both smiling.

The picture dates back to June 1980, and was taken at a Church picnic.  The women are good friends; they have known each other since they were about 16 yrs of age, but time and circumstance has separated them until the very weekend of the picture.

No one could have predicted, but four years after this picture was taken, one of them would be gone.  The other, would soon take over where her dear friend left off, and she would continue to do so for many many years until her own death, 31 yrs later.

I called both women Mother.  You see, I have been blessed to have two remarkable women for Mothers... my own, and Gary's.  I loved them both with all my heart, and this year will be the first time in my 55 yrs without one of my "Mothers" to honour on Mother's Day.

It will seem strange, indeed.  But there are many many mothers who can be honoured by all of us.

A mother is more than a woman who has borne a child, it is any woman who has nurtured, loved and cared for anything other than herself.   That is what a mother, is... and that is what a mother does.

So on this day set aside to honour nurturers the world over, I wish all the women on earth a "Happy Mother's Day".  I hope your day is special, and complete with the knowledge that those whom you have nurtured, be it human, animal, vegetable or mineral - love you right back on this very special day.

                                                               Happy Mother's Day!

My Mother, Erna Fischer is in the peach dress, Gary's mother, Olga Graumann is in the blue dress.