"Motherhood" comes in all shapes and sizes

I was sitting in sacrament meeting this morning listening to talks about motherhood. Normally when I hear them I'm merely listening and not paying close attention to anything more than 5 feet ahead of me (as happens to most mothers with small children, I'm sure). But today for some reason, I started looking around at all the women in the congregation. And I realized that, mixed in with the women who are in my similar situation - young, just a couple of kids, husbands in school, etc. - there are many other types of women. There are great-grandmothers; first-time grandmothers; divorced, working mothers; grandmothers raising grandchildren; pregnant women; and women who are single with no children. It got me thinking about the word "mother." It doesn't always mean a woman who is married with a bunch of kids. It can mean an aunt or a grandmother who is raising family members, it can mean the bishop's wife who takes care of ward members, it can mean a visiting teacher who goes above and beyond her calling. I heard someone once use the phrase "mother heart." I think all women in some way have a "mother heart". They are naturally nurturing and loving, they care for friends and family, sometimes complete strangers, in numerous ways. There are women who take in foster children, who babysit for friends on a regular basis, who sit with stressed mothers in sacrament meeting. I could go on and on. So this Mother's Day I not only honor my own mother and those in my family and circle of friends, but all women who are mothers-at-heart, who are true examples of what a mother should be. Happy Mother's Day!

Since putting it on my blog makes it official

I don't usually write a post like this, but I needed to have it in writing so that you all can ask me about it and motivate me on the days that I might not want to work on this goal. I have decided to "run" in a 5K. A lot of my friends participated in a marathon on Saturday, plus on "The Biggest Loser" (one of my favorite shows these days) they ran a 5K. So I figured, why not me? I don't know when or where, but I'm determined to do it. I'll keep you posted with details later.