Please join with me and give a loud cheer to all the fabulous people who mother. There is a long list of who I could applaud, for starters my own mother, but there have been many who have nurtured my heart, soul, and body through the years. I imagine you too have a lengthy catalogue to applaud. Mother’s Day is the perfect day to reach out with acknowledgment for those who hugged us through the trials.

Of course I must start with my mother, whose accolades I have recorded with great detail in a myriad of posts on this blog. She is a constant source of inspiration for me. Her living mantra was on active display. To love. To give. To learn. Owning her truth on a grand scale. And, for all her days, she was the most glamorous of mothers.

Anyone who knew my mother would agree, she is an impossible act to follow, as were so many of her generation, those women took on motherhood, careers, PTA’s, while navigating all the challenges the world brought to their front door. Those were a lot.

My mother often reminded me to listen to my children’s dreams, to enjoy their imaginative play time, and to love them unconditionally. I recognized that same level of love when I read about Jeanne Manford’s understated yet powerful support of her gay son in the 1970’s. Thanks to that mom, PFLAG’s core commitment continues to profess, “We love all our children, and we’re not going to leave any of them behind.” That’s how unconditionally my mom loved this queer daughter and her wife too.

I count myself quite lucky to have three who call me mom. That role is the best feels.

But mothering is a big job. It takes the aunties and stepmoms and grandmothers and neighbors and teachers and on and on to tend to a child. Those who do so first and foremost are amazing. And those who also find time to support initiatives that are crucial to our safety, like Moms Demand Action. These moms know that gun violence is preventable, and are committed to doing what it takes to keep families safe. Started by a mother, Shannon Watts, “and turned into a movement of moms, dads, students, families, concerned citizens, and survivors working together with our partners in the gun violence prevention movement to end this uniquely American crisis.” Cheers to all these brave and hard-working ones who strive to hold on to us.

I might also add that mothering should not be forced on anyone. Those who think to do away with a woman’s health options are misguided and cause more pain than we will be able to sidestep. Here, on the crest of Mother’s Day I can’t help but feel fed-up with the party of anti-life. Yes, the GOP may claim differently, but there is no evidence to support that they are pro anyone’s life. They vote no to the Affordable Care Act, no to a living wage for a revised Minimum Wages Act, no to paid Family Leave for new parents, no to Federal Child Care funding once the baby arrives, no to all Gun Control measures that might protect, an especially big no to assisting our Queer youth, those most vulnerable to violence and mental health issues, which leaves nothing to support their pro-life moniker. They are pro death penalty, pro conceal and carry, pro book banning, pro protecting the interests of the rich. We have mountains of evidence to show exactly where they place care and it’s no where near the children. They have stacked the courts, from district judges to those who sit for life, ending the right for women to make their own health decisions, as well as fill school boards to carry out their Handmaid’s Tale vision of a dystopian and antiquated America. This is, as most Grand Old Party issues, about keeping the poor even poorer. Striking down is the only way they can feel elevated for they stand on nothing but negatives.

Okay, enough of that. We can discuss politics in some November in our future, for now, I’ll pivot to those who nurture and who love with a big messy wonderful heart.

This Sunday treat a mom, or someone who has supported you, to a walk or a brunch or a gracious nod of thanks. I know I will be sending out to big love to many of those who have cared for me. Starting with the fab mother who made me a grandmother.