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Westerly Mums: A celebration! Westerly Mums: A celebration!

There are mums who mother, mums who adopt, mums who foster, mums who care for others, there are mums who shepherd families of animals and for whom their animals are their kids.

There are mums who do great jobs because they had great parents - and other mothers who do great jobs despite parents who could contribute little other than a gene pool. There are mums who could only contribute a gene pool and a place for a baby to grow, who have shared their parenting with adoptive mums.

You are still a mum if your child is gone and you miss your child. Your mum is still your mum if she is gone and you miss her. You can still honour your mum even if she is a frail shadow of the woman who raised you.

To mothers everywhere who do their best, the Westerly News salutes you with these pictures and adjectives.

See our Facebook page to learn more about them, and to see the lucky name we drew for the prize. Special thanks for the creative and touching memories shared in our Facebook Mother's Day contest. You rock.

I recently witnessed a miracle: my progeny's progeny. Just to hold my new granddaughter was amazing, her compact 10-pound frame the sweetest, most wonderful bundle.

I went expecting to be of some help, but the greatest reward of all was witnessing

the ease and affection with which her mum and dad took care of her infant needs. My work was done here, I thought to myself. Forget Paris, Everest can stay where it is - this is my bucket list.

From there I journeyed to my youngest son's college grad. College! I was just rocking him, five minutes ago! During the ceremony, they had all the mothers in the auditorium stand up as the next day was Mother's Day - and then again with their families as their particular graduate crossed the stage. It was delightfully rewarding to see all three of my grown sons interacting, grown-ups who love and support each other, celebrating the "baby" of the family as he heads off to a doctoral fellowship in chemistry. I met his intended bride and her family, astounded again that my former babe-inarms is preparing to become a life partner.

Back in Ucluelet, my middle son served up his latest invention - some of the world's best cinnamon buns. The family baker and my photo editor at the paper, he also does beautiful woodworking AND he is working on his business administration program at North Island College. He's doing all this in his 30s despite an ongoing battle with debilitating and chronic illness, and I'm absolutely, unreservedly proud.

I've had a few accomplishments in this life:, but my bottom-line bucket list is these three children who have given me my happiest tears, who have taken their gene pool and done good things with it. They are a credit to themselves, and THAT makes me proud.

I think if you look at the pictures above, you'll see that I'm not alone in feeling that pride, nor in having a great reason to.

May we all see the fruits of our family labours. For mums, every day is Mother's Day.