"Here's to Us" - All the mothers who have NEVER won mother of the year...

...And to all the runners up and all the wannabees, the mothers too tired to enter or too busy to care. The teachers, nurses, caregivers, single fathers, grandparents, aunts and coaches.

This is for all the mothers who froze their buns off on metal bleachers at soccer games Friday night instead of watching from cars, so that when their kids asked "Did you see my goal?" They could say "Of course, wouldnt of missed it for the world." and mean it.

This is for all the mothers of Kosovo who fled in the night and cant find their children.

This is for the mothers who gave birth to babies they'll never see. And the mothers who took those babies and gave them homes.

For all the mothers of the victims of the school shootings, and the mothers of the murderers.

For the mothers of the survivors, and the mothers who sat in front of their TV's in horror, hugging their child who just came home safely.

For all the mothers who run carpools and make cookies and sew Halloween costumes. And all the mothers who DONT.

What makes a good mother anyway?

Is it patience?

Compassion?

Broad hips?

The ability to nurse a baby, cook dinner, and sew a button on a shirt all at the same time?

Or is it heart?

Is it the ache you feel when you watch your son or daughter disappear down the street, walking to school alone for the very first time?

The jolt that takes you from sleep to dread, from bed to crib at 2 a.m. to put your hand on the back of a sleeping baby?The need to flee from wherever you are and hug your child when you hear news of a school shooting, a fire, car accident, a dying baby?

I think so.

So this is for all the mothers who sat down with their children and explained all about making babies. And for all the mothers who wanted to, but just couldnt.

This is for reading "Goodnight Moon" twice a night for a year...and then reading it again, "just one more time".

This is for all the mothers who mess up. Who yell at their kids in the grocery store and paddle them in despair and stomp their feet like a two year old who wants ice cream for dinner.

This is for all the mothers who taught their children to tie their shoe laces before they started school. And for all the mothers who opted for velcro instead.

For all the mothers who bite their lips - sometimes until they bleed - when their 14 year olds dye their hair green, purple, blue or maroon.

Who lock themselves in the bathroom when babies wake up crying and wont stop.

This is for all the mothers who show up at work with spit-up in their hair and milk stains on their blouses and diapers in their purse.

This is for all the mothers who teach their sons to cook and clean and their daughters to sink a jump shot, shoot a goal or kick a field goal.

This is for all the mothers who's heads turn automatically when a little voice calls "Mom" in a crowd, even though they know their own offsprings are at home.

This is for mothers who put pinwheels and teddy bears on their childrens graves.

This is for mothers whose children have gone astray, who cant find the words to reach them.

This is for all the mothers who sent their children to school with stomach aches, assuring them they'd be just FINE once they got there, only to get a call from the school nurse and hour later asking them to please pick them up...right away!

This is for young mothers stumbling through diaper changes and sleep deprivation.

And mature mothers learning to let go.

For working mothers and stay at home mothers.

Single mothers and married mothers.

Mothers with money, mothers without.

This is for you all!!!

So hang in there.

For all the moms in your life.