i have not carried a child in my body.
i have no "labor story."
i haven't named anyone but my pets.
i cannot share stories with the other ladies at the
luncheon about how well my son or daughter is doing at school.
i have no pictures in my wallet, just a concert stub from the last show i saw.

i am not a mother.

no, i do not know who is going take care of me when i get old.
and yes, i do wonder if he would have had eyes like my husband or
if she would have been rebellious like i was. (am)
many holidays seem like any other day ~ halloween, easter, christmas....
i have never bought diapers or been to a mcdonald's playland or driven a
mini van.

i am not a mother.

this doesnt indicate i am too wild or too corporate or too selfish.
this doesnt mean i don't adore children or cannot cherish their beautiful souls.
i know how to play and i know how to connect and i get how very
important and sacred your job is as a parent.
i think i still know how to love deeply even though they say "i will never know a love until i have a child of my own..."

i am not a mother.

but i have mothered many.
my family.
my friends.
students and pets and strangers and
little pieces of this earth.

maybe that's the kind of mom i was meant to be.