Hi All,

This is going to be a quick note…because I’m getting ready for my son Jake’s wedding. He’s the last of my three to be married, and I must tell you – I feel like we’ve hit the spousal jackpot, when it comes to the partners my kids have picked.

I write a lot about motherhood (as you know!) but the fact behind the fiction is that as parents, all we really want is for our kids to grow up healthy and happy and safe. And, also, to find someone to share their lives who makes them even better people. So here is a shoutout to my three – Kyle, Jake, and Sammy – and THEIR three – Kevin, Melanie, and Frankie. All of you mean the world to me.

It’s fitting to me that this newsletter is coming out just before Mother’s Day. Anyone who is a mom knows it’s both the hardest and most satisfying job in the world, and that those of us who look as if we’re doing it well are really just ducks who seem serene on the water but are paddling like crazy underneath.

Here’s to the moms who are chasing sleep, who never stop worrying, who can make a makeshift toy out of a rubber band and a sock if necessary. Here’s to the moms who stay at home and to the moms who work. Here’s to the moms who are hiding in Ukrainian subway tunnels, praying for the safety of their kids. Here’s to the moms who have lost a child, and still reach for them in their thoughts and their dreams. Here’s to the moms who gave a baby up for adoption, and the ones who became mothers by taking that baby into their heart. Here’s to the moms who are not sure if they want to be moms yet; those who are trying to become moms; those who are experiencing that strange mitosis of newbornhood, where something that was part of you becomes its own awe-inspiring being. Here’s to every mom who wishes on a star for her child, in the hopes that her child will have the best possible life.

I see you, moms. And you’re doing AWESOME.

XO,

Jodi