Welcome to this special episode of I’ll Ask The Question Around Here, where I talk about Mother’s Day; what it means to me, and to the world.

Motherhood, as seen through the lens of two remarkable women—my mother and my mother-in-law—is not a role defined by ease or perfection, but by resilience, complexity, and quiet determination. My mother’s stroke in 1980 reshaped our family forever, yet she refused to let it define her. Though she lost physical function, she never relinquished her role as the family’s emotional anchor. Her unwavering presence and commitment, even while married to a man grappling with depression, revealed a strength that surpassed physical ability. At first, I saw her constant giving as self-neglect, but I came to realize it was her way of asserting her completeness, of reclaiming her identity in the face of loss. Similarly, my mother-in-law, Patricia, lived a life marked by trauma, loss, and reinvention. Surviving domestic violence, the death of a child, and fractured family dynamics, she eventually found peace in a rural retreat and redefined herself. Though her earlier years as a mother were marked by hardship and absence, she later became a powerful presence in our children’s lives, showing that motherhood is not a fixed state but an evolving act of love and courage. Her decision to step away, once seen as abandonment, became an act of self-preservation that allowed her to heal and return stronger.

Mother’s Day, then, is far more than a celebration—it’s a reflection on the expectations, grief, gratitude, and quiet heroism that shape maternal relationships. It’s a day that carries both beauty and pain, honoring those who gave everything, those who couldn't, and those who are still figuring it out. For many, it’s not simple. There are unspoken hopes, disappointments, and the weight of societal expectations. But whether you're a mother, grieving one, estranged from one, or simply holding complex feelings—your experience matters. Today, let’s hold space for all forms of mothering and all the people doing their best to show up, with honesty, forgiveness, and grace.