Mother. Mom. Mama. Mommy. Matushka. Madre. Mutter.

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To those of you with a mother:

Whether your relationship with your mother is solid or borderline depressing, Mother’s Day is the perfect opportunity to stop and reflect on the women who made you the person you are today. Their paths may not always reflect your own path, but that doesn’t mean they didn’t pave the road that made the most sense to them at any given time in their lives.

Those women may be your mom, your grandma, your aunt, your sister, your best friends’ mom, or the neighbor lady who always made sure you had food in your belly or shoes on your feet as you spent your summers roaming around the neighborhood. If you’re really lucky, it’s all of those ladies.

As you reflect, consider picking up the phone and letting them know what a difference they’ve made. I promise you won’t regret it.

To those of you that are a mother or dream of being a mother:

Whether you’ve been a mother for decades, are celebrating your first Mother’s Day with your little one, or have wished for years that your struggles to conceive were just an awful nightmare – I hope you realize what a difference you have made in the lives of those who look to you for wisdom, for a shoulder to cry on, for a goofy face to make them smile, for a hug to lean into, or simply for an excuse to hear they are loved.

To those of you who have had to say good-bye to your mother recently:

I can only imagine Mother’s Day after your mother is gone is a hard pill to swallow; a date on the calendar that you dread because you don’t know how you’ll feel but you know it’s not going to be good. I hope you take Mother’s Day as an opportunity to thank your mother still for all that she did for you, for raising you to be the person you are today, and for the blessing THAT bestowed on the people YOU love.

Happy Mother’s Day!

Beth Bangtson, HR Manager