I am...well...I am a lot of things really.

At the very beginning, for my very first thing, I was somebody's daughter.  Their child.  Full of the potential to become lots of things...eventually.  Instantly I was cousin, niece, grand-daughter, god daughter.  But first I was somebody's daughter.

Not too long after becoming that very first thing, she came along and I became somebody's sister.  Full of the potential to become lots of things...to her...eventually.  Sometimes her best friend, other times her worst enemy.  Part protector, part tormentor.  Part paver of the way, part partaker in her little sister ways.  Sister.

Along the way I became somebody's friend, student, teammate, classmate, teacher, aunt, girlfriend, best friend, employee, notable things to many different people...some of whom were notable, others...not so much.

Then he came along and I became somebody's love.  Full of the potential to become lots of things...eventually.  Best friend, lover, bride, partner.  Wife.

When she came along, finally, 13 days after I was expecting her, I became somebody's mother.  Full of the potential to become lots of things...eventually.  What did I become when the next little girl came along 2 and a half years later?  And then, the bonus little girl barely 17 months after that?  Still a mother?  More of a mother?  Certainly, even more full of the potential to become lots of things...eventually...for all three of them.  Mother.  

It's interesting to think about how what we are, connects us to the people we keep.  I have no choice but to be somebody's daughter.  It's simply what I am.  There's an amazing amount of power in that connection.  There's a different kind of strength in the connection that makes me his partner.  That's my choice..and one I would make day after day, over and over again...but still, it's my option.  That's a compelling connection.

The connection that makes me their mother is special, because for me, it's both.  For me, it began with a choice.  I chose to become a mother, but now, it's simply what I am.  Actually, it's not simple at all.  It's complicated, and sophisticated, and profound, and intricate, and unconscious and forever...and I'm grateful for it day after day, over and over again.

Happy Mother's Day to me.  Thank you girls.  For being what you are and making me what I am.