I have three Moms. Some may cringe at that thought. Let me explain.

There's Bio-Mom. I mention her first because she was my first Mother. Circumstances dictated that she give me up for adoption. I can't even begin to imagine how difficult a decision that was. I tracked her down when I was 20 years old, and discovered a couple of things about her right away. First, she learned my adopted name when she was signing some paperwork after I was born. There were many times she could have come looking for me, but did not. It wasn't because she didn't want to or because she didn't think about me. Quite the contrary. She had faith that her daughter would come back to her eventually.

Secondly, I discovered that she stands by the decisions that she makes. Giving me up for adoption was one of those decisions. She has made quite a few tough, and possibly unpopular choices. She still feels that they were all the right decisions to make at the time.

It didn't take me very long to feel at home with Bio-Mom. I do not regret finding her for a moment. She was afraid that I would be angry with her for giving me up. It didn't even occur to me to be angry. We clicked pretty quickly, and finding her was like finding a piece of myself.

It has been nearly 11 years since we were reunited. In that time, she has taught me to be less judgmental, and has given me the "go ahead" to be myself. I'd always felt different from the family I was raised in. Different isn't always good. Once I got to know my bio-family, I realized that different is ok.

Secondly, there's Mom. She adopted me. She's my Mom. She had the privilege of changing my diapers, drying my tears, and putting up with my tantrums from the time I was born until I moved out. She raised two children on her own and put herself through college to become a Surgical Technologist. She is generous to a fault and always has the best of intentions.

She always did the best she could. I can't fathom how she ever got time for herself, or dealt with not having any at all. She tries very hard in all she does, and there is no doubt that she loves her grand-daughter to distraction.

Mom taught me to think big, be creative, and how to make the simplest of "events" the best events. I will always remember the trips to Dunkin Donuts and the lazy weekend afternoons, as well as the cookie and brownie baking. I also enjoyed the rare time when it was just the two of us talking about our days.

Mom, I may have made a hard break 11 years ago, and I regret how I did it. You, too, are very much a part of who I am, and I love you very much.

My Mother's Day wish for Mom is that she begins taking better care of herself and makes some changes that will make her life less stressful for now, and later on. I also wish that she will someday be more comfortable with who she is.

Last, but in no way the least is Millie. She is my most recently acquired Mom, and quite possibly the best Mother-In-Law I could ask for. In recent years, I've discovered many similarities in the way we think. When we disagree on something, we can discuss it. There has been a few times when we have "taken time off" from each other, only to work our way back to our friendship.

A few years ago, she quit a job that she hated and struck out on her own. She now runs her own bookkeeping business, she's pretty successful, too I might add. She also made a difficult decision to take a "mental step back" from her family of origin. Not a popular decision, but one that I understand and support. She becomes a fierce opponent if one of her kids is "under attack."

She has done some pretty heavy duty self-study and has become interested in a lot of different things in the past few years. I'm lucky enough to be on the receiving end of some of those discoveries.

She's taught me to always grow and learn and to look inside myself for areas of improvement. She's no slouch when it comes to showing support for her kids in whatever they do. She is a wonderful teacher, and I love her. I have plenty to learn from her, I'm sure. She is part of me, too.

My Mother's Day wish for her is that she continues to learn and teach and be comfortable in her own skin. I also wish that someday she finally gets to see Sedona, Arizona.

I have three Moms. I need all of them in order to become the person I'm supposed to be.

Thank you all! I love you! Happy Mother's Day!

Love,
Kelli

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