Yesterday was Mother’s Day. It’s good to celebrate Mothers. Mothers do a lot that is often unpleasant, unrecognized, and unrewarded. And yet… Mother’s Day is woefully narrow-minded. There are many mothers that don’t fit the “mold.” There are foster mothers, step-mothers, males who mother, mentors, friends, sisters. And then there are the not-mothers. The single women who want to be a mother but aren’t, the single women who choose not to be a mother, the women who cannot carry a pregnancy to term, or those mothers whose children have died untimely deaths. To not-mothers and not-standard mothers, I offer some reminders. “Nothing can dim the light which shines from within.” Maya Angelou Strong back.  Soft front. Wild heart. Just be you. Brene Brown “Encourage yourself, believe in yourself, and love yourself. Never doubt who you are.” Stephanie Lahart I can’t think of any better representation of beauty than someone who is unafraid to be herself. Emma Stone “There is no gate, no lock, no bolt that you can set upon the freedom of my mind.” Virginia Woolf The great courageous act that we must all do, is to have the courage to step out of our history and past so that we […]