[NancyAshe]

May 7-8, 2005 is Mother's Day weekend, celebrating and honoring all mothers. Mother's Day has been celebrated since the days of Ancient Greece, but until 1990, birthmothers were largely unacknowledged. That year, Mary Jean Wolch-Marsh conceived the idea of Birthmother's Day, observed the day before Mother's Day, as a day of acknowlegement of the motherhood experience of women who were indeed mothers by birth. Since that time, as the adoption community has become more vocal and *all* experiences connected with the adoption process are being more openly discussed and acknowledged, we hear from many women who like the idea of a separate day for their separate experience, and many who prefer to be included in the traditional Mother's Day observance.

I'd like to take this opportunity to wish all the mothers in our community a happy mother's day, whichever day and however each prefers to observe it.

Still looking for gift and card ideas? Check out the Mother's Day section of AdoptionShop.com.

And if you want to talk about it, our Birthmother's Day forum has always been a great place to share and listen to opinions and thoughts.

[Opus]

"I'd like to take this opportunity to wish all the mothers in our community a happy mother's day, whichever day and however each prefers to observe it."

Ditto. Good wishes to the all moms out there, including my own and to my dear wife, as well as the first mothers to my son and daughter, you are never forgotten.