Happy Mother's Day!

I woke up last Sunday and saw "Happy Mother's Day" greetings flood my facebook newsfeed.  I suddenly felt a flood of regret knowing that this role has passed me by.  I will never experience for myself the joy of birth that I see everyday in the faces of the new mothers we deliver.  It's a good thing I am an obstetrician. I can participate in the miracle of bringing new life into the world.

When my good friend Joseph Monsalud greeted me "HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY" I said I felt hurt, because I am not a mother.  So he explained,

Being a mother doesn't mean you had physically delivered a baby, but encompasses raising them, provided care for them, feeding them, loving them when no one else provided it to them.

Come to think of it, I felt so much like a stage mother to my residents when they proudly represented our institution VSMMC during the CVCHRD Research and Innovation Conference at CIT-University last May 9-10, 2019. 

The best part was when our senior resident, Dr Mhea Lasola, won 1st place in the podium presentation professional category!  I was so proud that whether she liked it or not, I marched up the stage with her to accept the prize!

I just had to post on our facebook page what I felt at that moment for these trainees whom I felt where my adult children:

"Your achievements become our achievements too!"

That Sunday, we were scheduled to have a surgical mission and I handled the 3rd case. I was truly not expecting the bouquet of flowers that were waiting for me at the OR lounge!

It was a delightful surprise, melting all the regret I felt when I woke up that morning.

There was a secret note too, one that would melt a heart of stone. 

I am parking this here so I can read it over and over when work seems too tough, when at times I feel so inadequate I want to quit, when I feel that I can't do this anymore, and use my failing health as an excuse.