Following up on yesterday’s post, I’ve noticed something interesting. Today, with my father and brother gone back home, I’m feeling amazingly freer and younger than I did when they were here. I danced to reggae music last night, I had cake for lunch today, and just now I was outside running with the dogs. It felt good. Not having anyone to please or to care for can be awfully lonely, but it is also freeing. You become ageless, not pigeonholed into the role of daughter, mother, grandmother, or wife, just yourself, running in the unmowed grass, the breeze blowing your hair around and making the wind chimes sing.

There’s a lot one can regret about not having children. God knows I have shed an ocean of tears, but there are advantages, too. As the Mother’s Day ads threaten to drown us in our childlessness, try to remember the good parts. If there’s a mother in your life, celebrate her. If not, just tune out the ads and go run with the dogs.