Today we celebrate mothers in all their diversity:

Mothers who experienced the joy and challenge of pregnancy and childbirth to bring another human being into the world

Mothers who nurtured, cared for and protected a tiny helpless baby to become a fully fledged independent human being

Mothers who were always there in a crisis, and still are

Mothers who put their children before themselves and their own careers and ambitions

Mothers who juggle motherhood with jobs and all the other aspects of modern life

Mothers who provide their love to a child through adoption or fostering

Mothers who spent a whole lifetime loving and caring for their children

Mothers who continue to share their love and knowledge as a grandparent

But today we also remember:

Mothers who have experienced the heartache of losing a child

Mothers who decided that the best thing to do for their child was to put him or her up for adoption

Mothers who have struggled to bring up a child alone and in poverty

Mothers whose children are far away

Our thoughts, today, are also with them.