Hey, y'all, I just celebrated Mother's Day with a friend of mine who's a great mom, so I enjoy the bright side of Mother's Day.  However, as I sat through today's church service and Mother's Day was celebrated, memories of my own not so great mom crept into mind, too.  A refresher for those who may not know:  my US citizen mother was deported back to the USA from Peru by authorities after her arrest for helping drug lords there launder money.  She didn't get like that over night, either, she was that way in the home.  If she didn't beat you well enough weekly, she got a guy to do it for her.  I left home a semester before finishing high school to survive her.  Fortunately, I got through college on my own anyway and became a teacher myself and all's well that ends well.  But there was a shadow side to Mother's Day for me.

If there was for you, please feel like this is a safe space for processing what can be an unpopular opinion out there in the world on Mother's Day.

And to those who are good moms--and there are many of you, like my friend--HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!  -)