And now for something completely different...

I'm taking a break from my Asian celebration to say a quick word about Mother's Day.

This morning I attended a lovely service that was focused on Julia Ward Howe (pictured here) as the original founder of the Mother's Day of Peace around the 1870s. After she penned the poem that would later be set to music as the Battle Hymn of the Republic, she became a peace activist.

It was a really nice way to remember the origins of Mother's Day (yes, it is to honor women...but remembering the peace origins helps take the edge off of commercialism!).

Then, there is the other edge I have to deal with. Being an adoptee, I have a wonderful mother to celebrate. Real flesh and blood. Someone who has demonstrated her true love for me a thousand times over by caring for me my whole life. Someone who is still a big part of my life today. And then I have a mother I have never met. Someone who is out there who gave birth to me. Someone who shares the same genetic material as me. And is a complete stranger.

Mother's Day is a challenging day for me. I was unprepared for the emotional challenges this year. I've come to prepare myself for my birthday (another challenging celebration/mourning), but this is the first year that I thought about my emotional "tug-of-war" on Mother's Day.

I'll be ready next year.