This one's from me, just me, while Courtney's not looking.

I watch my wife do the math nobody asked her to do. Whose shoes fit, whose feelings got bruised at school, what's defrosting, who hasn't had water in a few hours, which boy needs an extra minute at bedtime tonight. None of it is on a list. It's just held, somewhere in her head, all day long.

Moms carry that. The emotional weather of a household, the calendar nobody printed, the soft work of noticing. You do it without applause, often without anyone realizing it's being done at all. You're more patient than we deserve and more compassionate than we know how to be.

If Mother's Day is heavy this year — if your relationship with your mom was hard, if she's no longer here, if you're still waiting and hoping to become one — we see you too. This day has more layers than the cards admit.

But to the moms and the mother figures and the women who stepped in when someone needed them to: thank you. The world keeps turning because of the quiet, daily, unglamorous love you pour out.

We love you. We see you. Happy Mother's Day.

And a very special thank you to Courtney Berk, who is the power behind Palmetto Parents, who loves this community more than you know, who I love more than words describe. Happiest of Mother’s Day to you.

— Daniel