Mother’s Day and Those Who Are Not

New writing prompt and upcoming events.

I’m not a mother, and so today I’m thinking about Donny and Marie.

My mom sends me a card each year for Mother’s Day. (She sends one for Father’s Day, too, though my father has been gone for almost two decades.) I love these cards. She tells me she’s proud and grateful, glad I showed up when I did. She reminds me of something funny from childhood. She often includes an embarrassing Polaroid, peeled from a pleather photo album.

“You look like you’re up to something,” says my husband, when I show him this year’s picture.

“Like an elf!” said one of my elementary school friends when I text it to her.