Happy Mother's Day to all who mother....... whether you are one or not

 It takes a village to raise a child and in my case that was certainly true!  Mother's are certainly important but so are those who play supporting roles.  These are the only pictures I have of some of the most important women in my life.   My Mother being number one but also my Aunts who were the "back up" Mothers.  They've all passed now but I have very wonderful memories of them all.
Below is my Mother in Hanover, Illinois where she grew up.  These were all before I was born. 

 Women are heroes too.........you just don't hear about them as much.

Below are 3 of the 4 most important women in my life....on the left is my Aunt Bernice, my Mother's sister-in-law who raised me basically the first 5 years of my life as my Mother was divorced and worked in Chicago as a nurse and came home on weekends.  There was no childcare in those days so she paid my Aunt and Uncle (her brother) to take care of me during the week.  My Mother was the youngest in her family of 6 and so Aunt Bernice and Uncle Homer were like Grandparents as they were 20 years older than my Mother.  My Aunt and Uncle took in other foster children all their life and raised 6 or 7 I think plus they had one son of their own.  My Aunt Bernice had polio when she was young so she had to wear special shoes as her feet were deformed from it but that never stopped her!  After my Mother remarried and I went to live with her and my new step-father permanently, I went back and spent every Summer with my Aunt and Uncle until I went to College.   

 The woman in the middle is my Mother was when she was in the Army in WWII.  She was an army nurse and evidently home on leave.  My Mother worked and put herself through school.  She had a 4 year degree in nursing and later went on to get her masters.  She always wanted to be a surgeon and she should have been as she was an operating room nurse who helped with eye surgeries.  She even traveled across country to assist with certain surgeries.  She taught me to be a life long learner and to persevere no matter what and also to not be a "whiner"! LOL!  One of her words of wisdom, of which there were many, was "Do you want to be a sheep or a shepherd?".  She made it feel okay not to "fit in" and to be myself.

The woman on the right of my Mother is her Sister,  my Aunt Alice.  Aunt Alice never had any children of her own but she loved and spoiled any child that came into view especially my cousins and I.  She would let us toddle around in her high heels, jump on her furniture and take us to Bingo when it was legal for kids to go.  Sunday nights she's have us over for popcorn.  Holidays she would always send me really special things. Like at Easter I would get a huge candy egg filled with goodies from Fanny Mae candies.  She and my Uncle would take me to fine restaurants and introduced me to lobster and fine dining.  My Aunt is responsible for my expensive taste! LOL!  She was also a wonderful cook and always had homemade cookies on hand.

The one woman who I do not have a picture of is my Aunt Edna, my Mother's sister-in-law.  She was housewife extraordinaire and would put Martha S. to shame.  She was a wonderful cook and baker, housekeeper and gardened and canned and she would still find time to take my cousin (her daughter) and I on hikes and go fishing.  She was always laughing and smiling and I know I gave her fits at times but she had the patience of a saint and never let on.  

So...if they can hear me today......Happy Mother's Day to all of you!  I still love you all!