Mother’s Day will be here soon. And it has me thinking about the special women in my life. I am blessed to have a great mom and 11 years ago added a Mother-in-Law to the list of “moms to appreciate and love.” But a few years ago, I met someone very special. Someone who would become my “Other Mother.”
Having an “Other Mother” in your life is a very special thing.
An “Other Mother” is a woman in your life who has no obligation to invest in your life, but she does. She is there for you even when she doesn’t have to be. She supports you, loves you, gives you advice, tells you to get over yourself, and cheers you on without you asking her for help or support.
I met my “Other Mother” through my little sister who was living with us at the time. Her co-worker had become very ill and missed quite a few days of work. We knew she didn’t have family around to help her out, so we decided to make her some soup and a few freezer meals to help her out.
I had no idea that a beautiful friendship would spawn from a pot of chicken soup!
Carol is a fire-cracker. She has been through more crazy than I can even imagine. She survived major health issues. She picked herself up when others have let her down. She moved to a new country at 18 all on her own. She made friends. She traveled the world. She had beautiful children. She loved fiercely even when others did not. She is sarcastic and funny and full of life even when life is not so great.
Her favorite phrase is “Jesus, Mary, and Joseph!!!” spoken in a slight Irish brogue. Which is exclaimed with passion whenever she is shocked, surprised, dismayed, angry, or just giving her strong opinion on a matter. And I think she is addicted to hot tea as much as I am to coffee!!!
A woman who is a passionate and loyal as Carol is a treasure to have in your life. My sister and I found ourselves quite in love with this woman who is such a fighter.
What I didn’t expect was how much love she would give to my children. Especially the babies that I brought into our lives through Foster Care and now adoption.
When we made the decision to foster and adopt, I knew I was in for an adventure. What I didn’t expect was the strong emotions and back and forths from the broken foster system. Carol, without hesitation, walked into my house and loved the twin baby girls who were so tiny and precious. They fell in love with her and she with them. She is their grandmother. She is their favorite. She is the one who helped me keep from going crazy when everything WAS crazy.
She would call and check on me. She allowed me to let out my frustration and jumped on board when I was on the “I am so mad I could spit.” boat! Not once has she ever made me feel bad for being a passionate, scattered brained mommy.
When I have been down about myself, she encouraged me. She spoke life back into me when I was exhausted.
She probably has no idea just how much her love and support has meant to me, especially in the last two years.
When we finalize our adoption for our three babies, I plan on finalizing on her adoption too. She is officially going to be adopted as Grandma Carol!
Every one of my children love Grandma Carol! And I love her too.
She is my “Other Mother.” She is my friend.
I am nominating Carol as my “Other Mother” at LovePop Cards. You can nominate your “Other Mother” too! Every nominee will receive a special 3D card from LovePop Cards. Three women will be chosen to receive a very special gift basket!
If you haven’t checked out LovePop Cards for Mother’s Day yet, you HAVE to!! They are the most beautiful 3D cards I have ever seen. I have ordered one for my mom, mother-in-law, and Carol (my “Other Mother”) for Mother’s Day. I can’t wait to send them to them!
Happy “Other Mother’s” Day!
Keikilani
Don’t forget to nominate your “Other Mother” and to tell her how special she is to you!
My “other” mother would have to be my MIL! We fight just like true mothers and daughters do that’s for sure 🙂
Checked out the card site – they DO have some awesome cards. Good luck to Carol. You are truly blessed to have someone like that in your life. My second mother is my grandmother.
Sounds like you have a special relationship! I really do not have that kind of relationship. I bet you really cherish it!
I don’t really have anyone else I would consider close enough to call my other mother my mom is my everything. It is nice to read how others are fortunate enough to form those relationships tho.
Carol is indeed a very special lady! I too had the great pleasure of working with her several years ago at the credit union. She made working fun, and always had the best stories! We lost touch over the years, but I will always remember fondly our time at Co-op. How wonderful that you have all found each other! Happy Mother’s Day, Carol!!
Wow, this is beautiful! I don’t have an “other Mother” unfortunately… though I wish I did because my mom lives so far away.
What a beautiful post. I wish I had that kind of relationship with my own Mother. You are so blessed and lucky!
What a beautiful story! Happy Mother’s Day!
I have lost my “other mother”, she was a beautiful and quirky lady and I miss her…Luckily I still have my mom! The pop up card is beautiful!
I am so sorry for your loss. Glad you still have your mom.
These are so beautiful! My other mother is my mother-in-law. I’m lucky we have such a special relationship.
What a lovely story. Thank you so much for sharing. Incredible job,
This story is so inspiring. My other mother is also my MIL. She is a gem. My own mother is amazing. However, I would love to meet someone like Carol. My experience is — that level of love and friendship is rare. Happy Mother’s Day, Carol!