Dear Mothers,
Hello there. You may not remember me. I was friends with your daughter in elementary school. I don’t even know if you would remember now, but you supported me in ways that helped me to become the person I am today. I was a kid with nothing to offer, but you carried me. Now that I am a mother, I see and understand the time and the effort that you spent on me. I want you to know that I appreciate that now, more than ever.
To the mother who made sure I never missed a game so that I could cheer. My own parents never witnessed one game, or practice or try out. They were too busy, or too tired, or too overwhelmed in a public setting and you went out of your way to pick me up and take me. You fed me meals after practices, you assured me that it was no trouble though I am sure it was, at the least, a small inconvenience but you never let on that I was. Thank you.
To the mother who took me to church. You picked me up for months so that I could make it on Sunday mornings. You always said “Same time next week.” And it always made my heart calm because I knew you were sincere, and I never had to wonder if I was welcome. Your heart with me was so gentle and sweet. You knew that I was searching for something and helped instill my faith. Thank you.
To my best friends’ mothers. One word: high school. Thank you for feeding me warm breakfasts on many, many weekends of my youth. Thank you for the open-door policy, and the constant reminder that there was never a reason to knock. Thank you for always being the house that held anyone who wanted to be there. Thank you for taking me on vacations, feeding me and making sure I got to do every fun tourist attraction with your family. Thank you for adopting me as your own in nearly every sense of the word.
I am a better mother, I am a better person because of you, my extra mothers. Because of your heart, I now know more about compassion, and selfless giving that perhaps I wouldn’t have known otherwise. Thank you for loving on me when I needed it and didn’t have the capacity to demonstrate my forever gratefulness. I will carry your sweetness with me always, and perhaps I will even get the opportunity to be the second mama to a kiddo in the future.
Sincerely,
The Extra Daughter
