You are a mom

Last night while on a much-needed date with my husband, I said that I was excited about my first "official" Mother's Day coming up. He looked at me and said, "You have always been a mother." Be still, my heart. He is right. And, of course, I've been thinking about that comment all day. Once you make the decision that you are ready to have a child, whether biological or adopted, you become a mom, even if you don't really realize it. It doesn't matter if your body won't help you or if your adoption takes five times longer than it should. Making the realization that you want a child, automatically puts your brain in mommy mode. For many of us, especially the infertiles who are going through extraordinary measures to conceive, sacrifices are made for our children long before we become pregnant or bring our kids home. We stop drinking, take pre-natal vitamins, we go into debt, we wait and wait and wait. We are patient beyond our wildest dreams. As we recognize National Infertility Awareness Week this week, know that you are not along, you still have hope and that you are a mom.