Hello everyone. I want to first say Happy Mother's Day to those of you who read this blog and have beautiful children that you cherish enormously, make huge sacrifices for, and do everything you can to make happy. You rock. As a new mother, I can relate to being a mom finally and it feels really, really good. It is the best thing that ever happened to me in my life to give birth to my little boy. But this post is also to other ladies out there who maybe had children and lost them (miscarriage, stillbirth, health problems, accidents, etc.) and to those other wonderful ladies who want children so badly but cannot have them due to health issues - of course you can adopt which is actually the most beautiful thing a woman can do in addition to having her own child, but some of you cannot adopt either because you aren't financially in that space or it is taking forever to find a child to adopt. In any case, I want to give you all a huge hug, tons of support and love, and much faith that things somehow work out in the long run, in some way, some how. I want to wish you all a happy mother's day. Let me introduce to you two sisters, one is my mother and the other, my aunt. One is a mother, one never could be.

This is my mother in her graduation photo taken in the 1960s. Beautiful, right? She is flying here to see us and meet her first grandchild, Aidan our son, in less than two weeks. We can't wait to welcome her! My mother only had me - she may have had more children but her marriage to my father wasn't a strong or loving one. In fact, I was born right after they separated (and got back together) when she was 24 years old. Within a few months after they jump started their marriage again, she was pregnant with me and then, I was born. If they'd hadn't gotten back together, I wouldn't be here today. So I'm grateful they gave it a second change. I'm an only child and though I would have loved to have had a brother, it just wasn't possible. I respected my mother's decision to just have me and grew up feeling very honored and happy to have her all to myself in many ways. She was and still is a wonderful mother. I can't wait to introduce her to my son!

See this lady above? This is my mother's sister. She passed away from cancer in her early 40's. She always wanted children, so very badly in fact, but her health wouldn't allow for it. Instead of letting it destroy her (she was so in love with kids!), she used her talent as a fine artist to also teach her methods to children and adults alike. She had her own school! When she died, her young students attended her services and made her beautiful goodbye gifts. She also treated me like gold and as her own daughter. She sent me lovely handmade gifts growing up from her travels, including things she made for me - art, a dollhouse, clothing, bears, dolls, etc. She and my mother put art, craft and a love for decorating and flowers into my heart as a wee little girl and today, my career is based around the very things she and my mother helped grow in me. I put her photo somewhere in all of my books, in fact - not in obvious places but I know they're there. She is always with me. I will always love her. She may not have been my mother, or anyone else's mother, but she was a born mother in any case - tender, loving, warm, giving and completely in love with little ones.

Again, I wish all of you ladies a beautiful mother's day. ALL of you, in whatever circumstances you are in. I say this because I remember when mother's day came and went each year and I still didn't have a baby to call my own. Sometimes I would sit on my bed huddled up in a ball and just sob in my pillow - I didn't understand how I'd ever have time to have a family, if I even could get pregnant once I did try, I wanted a little one so badly but the years rolled by and I thought I had plenty of time. Last year I realized I didn't and decided it was now or never and I very luckily, almost miraculously, got pregnant for the first time with no help. And now my son is 3 months old and purring nearby sleeping as I type this. I never felt so much love in my life.

So to all of you ladies out there: Happy Mother's Day.

- Holly xo