International [Wives/Mothers/Daughters/Sisters] Day

Let me be transparent for a minute about something: I want to get married and to have children.

I mean, like, bad. Really bad. Really. Really. Bad.

I don't want it tomorrow, or next month, or even necessarily next year. But it's one of those things that I hope (with confidence) to be blessed with in my lifetime.

I think we all have that one thing we wish we could make happen, that one desire for something completely out of our control. It can be anything, really, but today I couldn't stop thinking about the wishes of women in particular. The wife who can't conceive but keeps trying. The 20-, 30-, 40-something single who keeps waiting. The child whose parents said they'd come back, who keeps wondering...

And then I thought about those who don't. There are those who don't try, don't wait, don't wonder -- the ones who instead decide to keep living. They may have lost a source of love, or may still be waiting for it to come, but they choose to keep loving. If you want my honest opinion, I think the two are almost synonymous, loving and living. I guarantee that if you look hard enough, you will find someone to love, and may in the process find yourself living, too.

So here's to the generous guys who take care of the moms, aunts, and would-be wives in their families. To the smart ladies who accept their generosity with a smile. To the little boy who instead of saying "I love you," chooses to throw meatloaf at his teacher's face while giggling uncontrollably. To the kind words, the flowers, the chocolate, the ride home in the rain. Here's to the extra seat at the table, and to filling it with someone who sits down sad but leaves happy.

Here's to celebrating Mother's Day regardless of whether or not you are or have a mother. Here's to the kids who need moms, the would-be moms who need kids, and the Divine Author of Love who in His grace often throws them together.

"our girls" in traditional costume after the orphanage Mother's Day program

Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth. 

 -1 John 3:18

Happy Women's and Mother's Day

La Mulți Ani, Femeilor