Happy Mother's Day 2012

Anna Jarvis is the unofficial mother of Mother's Day. According to information released by the U.S. Census Bureau, she organized observances in Grafton, W.Va., and Philadelphia on May 10, 1908. As celebration caught on around the country, Jarvis asked members of Congress to set aside a day to honor mothers. Her efforts were recognized in 1914, when Congress designated the second Sunday in May as Mother’s Day.


Here are some other interesting facts and figures about the day we dedicate to our mommies:

• There were more than 85 million mothers in the U.S.in 2009.
• In the last 12 months, 4 million women between the ages of 15 and 50 have given birth.
• 81 percent of women between the ages of 40 and 44 reported they had become mothers.
• In 2008, the average age of a woman giving birth for the first time was 25.1.
• In 2009, there was roughly 25,000 jewelry stores in the U.S. and more than 17,000 florists.
• There were 10 million single mothers living with children under the age of 18 in 2011. This is up from 3.4 million in 1970. 5.2 million of last year's single mothers were owed child support. 

In recognition of Mrs. Jarvis' efforts, I'd like to take a minute share some interesting facts about my awesome mother: Katy Baker, a.k.a. Kay Brown.

• She was born Dec. 3, 1954 in Cape Girardeau, Mo. to Eugene and Virginia Baker. Kay was the fourth of seven children, and the first girl.
• She currently lives in Des Moines, Iowa.
• She has given birth to two handsome boys. Brian was born in St. Joseph, Mo. on June 10, 1975, and Justin was born in Kansas City on Feb. 27, 1980.
• From 1983 forward, she was a single, working mother. 
• Both of her children have graduated college.
• A devoted mother (and grandmother of five), Mrs. Baker loves traveling, eating out, Law & Order SVU and making fun of gray hairs she sees on her oldest son's head and in his beard.
• Not only did her children have everything they needed growing up, but today they have a mother who is going through life with them, sharing in their triumphs and tragedies, helping them find meaning and direction, and is known to regularly put their needs before her own. 

I love you, mom. And not just on the second Sunday in May. 

Blue calming waters

Sunday dishes and basketball
swirl with singing in the young soft car,
a green and gold bicycle gift,
passing out in a tiled bathroom.
I'm pulled from my body in
a timeless flash.
A sacred oasis,
constructed for rest, for knowing,
for letting go, finds me
in a dying moment.
Mourn for me, but I am not lost,
lying still, on a white linen sheet,
in the street, on an adjustable bed.
The light guides me on a drying line,
through a cave
into a field of green, by a river
with blue calming waters.
A friend waits for me on the bank,
holding the love we share
of a simple melody.
We cross.
'I'm home' we sing.
We're home. And I'll wait for you there.
So we can fade together, forever,
into the sun.