Moms Of All Kinds
I’ve been called mom since I was in my mid twenties and not because I had my own child. I’m called mama now and I’ve still never given birth. This kinda hit me yesterday while the pastor spoke at church. He mentioned not only what we think of as traditional moms, but mentors, aunts, adoptive mothers, mothers who have lost their children, and women who have stepped up in a child’s life when a mom was needed. I know someone who fits each of these labels and I’ve been some of them, but I have one more to add.
In my mid twenties I gave A LOT of riding lessons! My group of girls took up an entire isleway at the shows. My trailer was full of sleeping bags filled with kids who’s parents couldn’t make it that weekend. I was mama Steph. 
I handled their ups and downs and they handled mine right back! We had loads of fun and at least one of us cried over the weekend! We were quite the team though and as hard as it was those were some of the BEST days of my life! You don’t even know it when it’s happening.
I handled their ups and downs and they handled mine right back! We had loads of fun and at least one of us cried over the weekend! We were quite the team though and as hard as it was those were some of the BEST days of my life! You don’t even know it when it’s happening.Fast forward a few years and Tim and I realized we couldn’t have a child of our own. Adoption was on our mind before anything medical. We just didn’t feel pulled to do anything medically since we were both considered very healthy. Maybe adoption was put in our minds for a reason. We both saw adoption in our family trees so had some support if we pursued this. Everything was put on hold when we purchased this farm though. Then one day I was sitting in the kitchen doing bills and a good friend walked in and asked if Tim and I were still thinking of adoption. I said we were. It didn’t know how I’d juggle this farm and training horses AND a baby right now though. She said she knew someone who was pregnant and wanted to do adoption. My answer was immediately YES! The next year was wild! If you yourself or if you know anyone who’s ever adopted you know it’s complicated. I called it my birthing pains. I got to miss that but not the fear and anxiety of lawyers and birth mothers making difficult choices.
This leads me to one more type of mom that I didn’t hear listed during service. That’s a birth mom who has put her child up to be adopted. She’s a very special one to me. Her life right now is a complicated one and not one id wish for a child, but for this child she made a selfless choice. I’ll be forever grateful to her for making us parents and letting us love this child. If you’re a mom who’s put up a child for adoption I want to say Happy Mother’s Day to you as well. You may be one of the most special moms to me. 