My birth mother made the toughest choice a woman can make. She was young, she had the rest of her life ahead of her. There were people waiting for kids who couldn't have them, but could give them good homes and love them and raise them as their own.

If she felt guilty for years afterward, if she still feels guilty, I wish she could know that I'm okay (although I will never tell her). When I think of her, though, rather than wonder who or where she is, I get an overwhelming feeling of thankfulness. I fill up and reach out and wonder if she stops wherever she is and feels it. I feel inclined to let her know I have a good life and I like who I am and I'm thankful that she brought me into this world.

This Mothers Day I have two mothers to celebrate. And even though the adoption prayer my mom read to me as a child says that I am not of her heart, but in it, I feel that I am both in and of the hearts of both of my mothers. The one who brought me into this world must think of me sometimes, and the one who raised me made me of her heart when she took me into it.

What are you celebrating this mother's day?