Some of us are raised by our mothers, some are raised by a family of women.  Both Irish Woman and I owe a lot to a group of ladies who have stepped in where our own mothers couldn’t or wouldn’t.  I’m not going into that whole “It takes a village…” meme, but if it wasn’t for a talented collection of aunts, friend’s moms, and just plain friends who are there for us when we need them, if only to give us a pat on the head and a bit of advice when we’re at our wits end, we wouldn’t have made it this far.  Like I’ve always said, it takes more than genetics to make family, and it takes more than a womb to make a mom.

So if you’re a mom, either biological, adopted, ad-hoc, or as Irish Woman calls it, a “parental consultant*”, Happy Mother’s Day!  You do the most important job I can think of, and if all you get is one day of the year to be given credit for it, enjoy yourself.

*Irish Woman refuses to be called ‘step-mother’.   She prefers to be called “Parental Consultant”.  Girlie Bear prefers to call her the “Second-Hand Mom” after seeing the similarly named movie.