Thank you to Bess, Lillian, Madge, Ellen, Pat and Georgie–they wanted to read this Mother’s Day tale again. It was first posted in May 2015. Thank you, Gals!

I got in this “Mom” thing late in life.  By the time I met my Hubby, his son was almost 18 and at a sort of rebellious age. T knew his own mind, had definite ideas about his Dad’s love-life and buried himself in tinkering with his numerous cars—one at a time, of course—while hanging out with his friends and girlfriend.

I wasn’t into being anyone’s “step-Mom” and figured I simply had a nice friendship with someone I liked; who had decidedly different ideas on leisure activities; who trusted me to navigate the alien streets of Vancouver to visit his parents and who was brave enough to continue ball-room dancing with a partner who had 2 left feet to begin with and still had 2 left feet when we finished our classes. When J finally popped the question, there was no hesitation in accepting as we had known each other for a few years. By then, the thought of having a 21-year old step-son was not as daunting as I had first thought.  T had evolved into a responsible and kind adult. While J and I enjoyed our engagement period, that became a lengthy one, T got married to his high school sweetheart and started a family.

The day I married T’s Dad, I officially became wife, step-Mom and Grandma to a 2-1/2 year old grandson and an 8-months old grand-daughter.

Today, my 2 oldest grandchildren are hard-working, responsible young adults who have definite goals in mind. My two younger grandchildren are active girls who love everything in their world, especially their big brother and big sister.

Moms have a tough job. They deal with not only the good and positive stuff of motherhood, but also the negative things such as colds, flu and things kids get into as well as the day-to-day running of an active household.  And for many others, juggling in a full-time job as well. When Mom-job and day-job collide, she manages to deal with both while keeping calm and relatively sane.

I feel very blessed to be a step-Mom and Grandma on Mother’s Day. I got there the easy route.  To all the other Moms out there, know you’re doing a great job. To all the Grandmas, you know you’ve done a great job when you gaze on the happy faces of your grandchildren.

Happy Mother’s Day to all of you—give yourself a well-deserved pat on the back!