From Heather Cox Richardson today: “If you google the history of Mother’s Day, the internet will tell you that Mother’s Day began in 1908 when Anna Jarvis decided to honor her mother. But “Mothers’ Day”—with the apostrophe not in the singular spot, but in the plural—actually started in the 1870s, when the sheer enormity of the death caused by the Civil War and the Franco-Prussian War convinced writer and reformer Julia Ward Howe that women must take control of politics from the men who had permitted such carnage. Mothers’ Day was not designed to encourage people to be nice to their mothers. It was part of women’s effort to gain power to change society.” This is particularly apt given the current political climate and the unauthorized war we are all paying for.

I kept my politics off my blog until this day in 2022. After the week that had preceded it, I no longer could. I wrote: “This is not something I can stand quietly by and watch. I must speak out, and loudly, in every platform I can. thus, today’s photos are not the beautiful ones of my beloved Big Sur coast, but of women who have and are speaking out. On this day, I want to say that no one, NO ONE should be forced to become a mother by government entities — against her will. Happy Mother’s Day to all who gladly assume this heavy mantle.”

Just a reminder of all that started to erode away the rights of women under Trump 1.0, please see my prior post from Mother’s Day, 2022. The photos alone are worth the trip back in time 4 years.

Please see https://bigsurkate.blog/2022/05/08/photo-sunday-mothers-day-2022/

And to my own beautiful daughter, Crystal, who is dealing with a very hard situation with her daughter, Amanda, by helping and supporting her in all the ways she can, know I am here for you and my granddaughter in whatever way either of you need. You are not alone. I love you both.