Some give some and some give all and some keep giving even when they think they have nothing left.

On Mothers Day I was just doing what mothers do. Mothering. I was cleaning and making meals and running errands and snuggling children human and furry. And all while I’m pushing the vacuum there are thoughts swirling in my head. I’m thinking of some of the amazing Moms that I’ve met throughout this journey. These women have rowed my life boat as it fills with water and threatens to sink. They have offered advice and ears and hugs. They inspire me daily.

Inspiring Moms like my friend Lisa. Whose daughter is non verbal and yet the most expressive girl I’ve ever met. She’s living, candid proof that love IS a language. And Lisa is a powerful and amazing Mom. Together they are proof that love really is enough.

Inspiring Moms like my friend Meghan. Whose daughter is defying all limits. They uprooted from a state without cannabis access to give their daughter this opportunity to thrive. And they are fighting misinformation and propaganda and double standards even in the cannabis community. All while managing their daughter’s treatment in uncharted territory.

Inspiring Moms like my other friend Meagan. Who also exchanged the life they had built for safe, consistent access to medicine and the happy giggles and babbles of her beautiful daughter. Worth the sacrifices for the moments of alertness and connection that were buried beneath a haze of pharmaceuticals. I just know that whether she ever takes a ballet class or not she’s already a star.

Inspiring Moms like my friend Julie. She has spent countless hours in the kitchen measuring to the tenth of a gram exacting meals that comply with the ketogenic diet. She runs a house full of boys and a non profit and yet still always finds time to offer help and uplifting messages as well as sharing her vast diet knowledge and experience.

Inspiring Moms like Tori. Whose fight to treat her own conditions with a safer medicine leaves her and her family vulnerable. Her passion and dedication humble me and inspire me daily. She shares her joys and sorrows with candor and compassion and is always, always helping others.

Inspiring Moms like Melissa. A single, hard working Mom with a heart of gold plated in steel. She works every day with cannabis patients, helping to ease their burdens and carrying far more than her share of pain and hope with a resilience and determination that is staggering.

Inspiring Moms like Susan. Who divided her family to give her daughter a chance to live. And while they are battling their way through a rough patch, even a rough patch now doesn’t compare to a regular day pre cannabis. And her ability to stop and acknowledge that and maintain perspective even in the hardest times leaves me awe struck. As does her continual willingness to share her experience and knowledge with desperate, searching parents.

Inspiring Moms like my friend Amie. Who fights so hard to give her daughter a real childhood between the seizures that intrude daily. She, like me, lives in a place that does not yet have access to cannabis. So in the meantime she fights with everything she’s got to find help and answers for her daughter. And then when she feels like she has nothing left she will still offer encouraging words to others.

Inspiring Moms like Michele. Who lost one son and finds it in her to fight for another. Who shares my love of all things salty- tears and ocean- and can always make me laugh with her colorful snarky humor.

Inspiring Moms like Paula. Who celebrated Mothers Day in the arms of two children where there should be three. But roadblocks to access meant their daughter didn’t get the chance to become a success story before a seizure claimed her life. But not her love. It lives on in her Mother’s fierce dedication to help others even in her own grief.

Inspiring Moms like Kristine. Whose daughter battles epilepsy, a mito disorder and just because the universe doesn’t know when to quit- it threw them Ewings Sarcoma too. But her daughter’s smile can light up a room. And together they have more spirit than a single universe can contain. And she wins hearts everywhere she goes. Because of the driving force of her incredible Mom who has built her up when life tried to beat them down.

Inspiring Moms like my friend Jennie. She is a devoted single mom, nurse and fierce advocate for cannabis. She uprooted from her home and moved to a state with better access. Now she bravely shares the struggles that takes and the trade off that entails. You might get access to a plant but you sacrifice so many things-quality of overall medical care, education, services in addition to the anticipated challenges of uprooting a medically fragile child to an entirely new place with no support system.

There are so many. I could go on and on and on. Mira, Cindy, Marcy, Meiko, Shaleen, Michelle, Judy, Briann, Desiree, Julie, Amy, Donna, DJ, Lisa, Jodi, Erin, Amie, Stacie, Brandi, Kim, Maura, Stacy, Penny, Jennifer, Danielle, Tina, Katie, Samantha, Shawnea, Amanda, Debra, Sara, Erin, Jennifer, Wendy, Angela, Keira, Elizabeth, Hilary, Annie, Kim, Lisa, Shanel, Rebecca, Diane and so many others. To all of you amazing, inspiring, loving Moms. I’m thinking of you. And acknowledging the way you wake up every day and give your all, and that even when it doesn’t feel like it’s enough. Please know that you are.