Happy Mother’s Day to mothers, and to those of you with a mother still around and those of you who had a mother, which includes just about everybody.

I am learning in life that any of us can be a good mother to some other living thing, human or animal. Maria, my wonderful wife, is a mother to all of the animals, although she sometimes denies it.

She insists she would have made a terrible mother to humans. I insist she is wrong.

I came into the kitchen last night and I saw that the door to the pantry was closed. Maria had spoken earlier about giving the chicks a chance to walk about and explore the world a bit.

There she was, of course, sitting on the floor with a handful of mealworms talking to the chicks, feeding them by putting the dry worms on her socks, and encouraging them to get off to a good start in life, which is what all good mothers do.

I choose to do some mothering myself. I’m not bad at it. The idea transcends gender, although men don’t have to suffer the pains of childbirth.

My mother is long gone, sometimes I miss her, sometimes I don’t.

Happy day to you, Mom, wherever you are.  You did your best under rough circumstances.

Happy day to all of mothers, men or women. Happy Mother’s Day to all the living beings, plants, and animals (even trees) that need mothering.

That would include every living thing.