Mother's Day Without Mothers: Love Triumphs over Law

Dear John,

 

It's Mother's Day again, and my first with no mothers at all. I lost mine in 2004 and yours last summer. I kept forgetting about it.

 

This afternoon we celebrated our own little motherless Mother's Day - Jen, Danica, and Elyssa came over. Danica is here for a week, and it is so wonderful to see her! Jen managed to surprise me completely again. I'm such a sucker - I believe what I'm told and always get taken in. And that delights Jen no end.

 

So here are all your girls. There's me, of course, and you and I do have a legal relationship. And Jen, who we have no blood or legal relationship with and somehow is completely and obviously ours. And Elyssa, who is legally and biologically Jens and somehow is our granddaughter. And Danica, who I suppose is technically Jen's ex-stepdaughter but is Jen's and ours anyway. It's a triumph of love over law. It's family.

 

Tonight we all send our love to you. We miss you; we're sad that you aren't here with us. And we love and look after each other, so don't worry about us. We all had a happy Mother's Day.

 

Love you so much,

Joan.