All EB moms are mom of the month for the month of May, the wordly recognized month that pays tribute to mothers. It just would not have been fair to pick just 'one' mom, so here are pictures of a whole bunch, surrounded by quotes, poems and inspirations.
Make sure to pass the mouse over the picture of all moms to read their names and the names of their precious EB kids :-)

 Mother's Day

~Mothers Day wishes from an EB kid~

"Thank you Momma"

For your gentle touch during those seemingly endless hours of bandage changes.
For your steady hands as they took my small hand or leg
and drained a large blister which was growing minute by minute in size.
Thank you Momma, for doing your job
even when I screamed and yelled at the top of my lungs when it was bath time
and we both knew of the pain that was sure to follow.
For the wrapping and unwrapping of all my opened wounds caused by my EB.
Like I was a big gift package, and we never know for sure what suprise might be waiting for us.
Thank you Momma, for the nights you cried yourself to sleep
wishing with all your heart you could take this pain instead of me.
Thank you Momma for all your love.......
"I Love you Momma"

Written by EB Patient Debbie Kay Hatley

THE HISTORY OF MOTHER'S DAY

Mother's Day is celebrated in 46 countries, at different times of the year.
- The International Mother's Day is May 11th.
- England's Mothering Sunday - 4th Sunday in Lent
- United States & Canada's Mother's Day - 2nd Sunday in May
- Denmark, Finland, Italy, Turkey, Australia & Belgium also celebrate on the 2nd Sunday in May.

Time Table of Mothers Day:

- 1600's: England celebrated a day called "Mothering Sunday", the 4th Sunday in Lent. Eventhe slaves, who usually lived with their masters, were allowed to go spend time with their Mothers on this day.

- 1872: Julia Ward Howe (author of Battle Hymn of the Republic) was the first to suggest a United States, "National Mother's Day", as a day of peace. Ms. Howe would hold organized Mother's Day meetings in Boston, Mass every year.

- 1905: Anna Jarvis mother died on the second Sunday in May, and Ms. Jarvis in Philadelphiawould continue the campaign to establish a "National Mother's Day", that her mother had conceived.

- 1907: Ms. Jarvis had persuaded her mother's church in Grafton, West Virginia, to celebrate on the anniversary of her mother's death.

- 1908: Mother's Day was also celebrated in Philadelphia.

- 1911: by this time, Mother's Day was celebrated in almost every state. 1913 - Mother's Day became an official State Holiday in Pennsylvania.

- 1914: President Woodrow Wilson and the Congress made Mother's Day an official National Holiday, on the second Sunday in May. Grafton, West Virginia, the home of Ms. Ana Jarvis' mother, is the site of the International Mother's Day Shrine.

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~~Motherhood ~~

If it was going to be easy, it never would have started with something called labor!

Shouting to make your children obey is like using the horn to steer your car, and you get about the same results.

To be in your children's memories tomorrow, you have to be in their lives today.

The smartest advice on raising children is to enjoy them while they are still on your side.

Avenge yourself ~~~ Live long enough to be a problem to your children.

The best way to keep kids at home is to make the home a pleasant atmosphere ~~ and to let the air out of the tires.

The right temperature in a home is maintained by warm hearts, not by hot heads.

Raising a teenager is like nailing Jello to a tree.

Parents: People who bare infants, bore teenagers, and board newlyweds.

The joy of motherhood: What a woman experiences when all the children are finally in bed.

Life's golden age is when the kids are too old to need baby-sitters and too young to borrow the family car.

Any child can tell you that the sole purpose of a middle name is so he can tell when he's really in trouble.

Grandparents are similar to a piece of string ~ handy to have around and easily wrapped around the fingers of grandchildren.

A child outgrows your lap, but never outgrows your heart.

God gave you two ears and one mouth... so you should listen twice as much as you talk.

There are three ways to get something done: Do it yourself, hire someone to do it, or forbid your children to do it.

Adolescence is the age when children try to bring up their parents.

You know the only people in this world who are always sure about the proper way to raise children? Those who've never had any.

Cleaning your house while your kids are at home is like trying to shovel the driveway during a snowstorm.

Oh to be only half as wonderful as my child thought I was when he was small, and half as stupid as my teenager now thinks I am.

There are only two things a child will share willing: communicable diseases and his mother's age.

Money isn't everything, but it sure keeps the kids in touch.

Adolescence is the age at which children stop asking questions because they know all the answers.

An alarm clock is a device for awakening people who don't have small children.

Why is it that our children can't read a Bible in school, but they can in prison?

How do you cope when the apple of your eye becomes a bone in your throat?

No wonder kids are confused today.  Half the adults tell them to find themselves; the other half tell them to get lost.

The persons hardest to convince they're at the retirement age are children at bedtime.

Kids really brighten a household; they never turn off any lights.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Real Mothers

Real Mothers don't eat quiche; they don't have time to make it.

Real Mothers know that their kitchen utensils are probably in the sandbox.

Real Mothers often have sticky floors, filthy ovens and happy kids.

Real Mothers know that dried playdough doesn't come out of shag carpets.

Real Mothers don't want to know what the vacuum just sucked up.

Real Mothers sometimes ask "why me?" and get their answerwhen a little voice says, "because I love you best."

Real Mothers know that a child's growth is not measured by height or years or grade... It is marked by the progression of Mama to Mommy to Mom...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Images of Mother

4 YEARS OF AGE ~ My Mommy can do anything!

8 YEARS OF AGE ~ My Mom knows a lot! A whole lot!

12 YEARS OF AGE ~ My Mother doesn't really know quite
everything.

14 YEARS OF AGE ~ Naturally, Mother doesn't know that, either.

16 YEARS OF AGE ~ Mother? She's hopelessly old-fashioned.

18 YEARS OF AGE ~ That old woman? She's way out of date!

25 YEARS OF AGE ~ Well, she might know a little bit about it.

35 YEARS OF AGE ~ Before we decide, let's get Mom's opinion.

45 YEARS OF AGE ~ Wonder what Mom would have thought about it?

65 YEARS OF AGE ~ Wish I could talk it over with Mom

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This is for all of the mothers who DIDN'T win Mother of the Year

All the runners-up and all the wannabes.  The mothers too tired to enter or too busy to care.

This is for all the mothers who froze their buns off on metal bleachers at soccer games Friday night instead of watching from cars, so that when their kids asked,
"Did you see my goal?" they could say, "Of course, wouldn't have missed it for the world," and mean it.

This is for all the mothers who have sat up all night with sick toddlers in their arms, wiping up barf laced with Oscar Mayer wieners and cherry Kool-Aid saying, "It's OK
honey, Mommy's here."

This is for all the mothers of Kosovo who fled in the night and can't find their children.

This is for the mothers who gave birth to babies they'll never see.
And the mothers who took those babies and made them homes.

For all the mothers of the victims of the Colorado shooting, and the mothers of the murderers.  For the mothers of the survivors, and the mothers who sat in front of their TVs in horror, hugging their child who just came home from school, safely.

For all the mothers who run carpools and make cookies and sew Halloween costumes. And all the mothers who DON'T.

What makes a good mother anyway?
Is it patience?
Compassion?
Broad hips?
The ability to nurse a baby,cook dinner, and sew a buttonon a shirt, all at the same time?  Or is it heart?
Is it the ache you feel when you watch your son or daughter disappear down the street, walking to school alone for the very first time?

The jolt that takes you from sleep to dread, from bed to crib at 2 a.m.to put your hand on the back of a sleeping baby?  The need to flee from wherever you are and hug your child when you hear news of a school shooting, a fire, a car accident, a baby dying?

I think so.

So this is for all the mothers who sat down with their children and explained all about making babies.  And for all the mothers who wanted to but just couldn't.

This is for reading "Goodnight, Moon" twice a night for a year.  And then reading
it again."Just one more time."

This is for all the mothers who mess up.  Who yell at their kids in the grocery store and swat them in despair and stomp their feet like a tired 2 year old who wants ice cream before dinner.

This is for all the mothers who taught their daughters to tie their shoelaces before they started school.  And for all the mothers who opted for Velcro instead.

For all the mothers who bite their lips-sometimes until they bleed-when their 14 year
olds dye their hair green. Who lock themselves in the bathroom when babies keep
crying and won't stop.

This is for all the mothers who show up at work with spit-up in their hair and milk stains on their blouses and diapers in their purse.

This is for all the mothers who teach their sons to cook and their daughters to sink a jump shot.

This is for all mothers whose heads turn automatically when a little voice calls "Mom?" in a crowd, even though they know their own offspring are at home.

This is for mothers who put pinwheels and teddy bears on their children's graves.

This is for mothers whose children have gone astray, who can't find the words to reach them.

This is for all the mothers who sent their sons to school with stomachaches, assuring them they'd be just FINE once they got there, only to get calls from the school nurse an hour later asking them to please pick them up.  Right away.

This is for young mothers stumbling through diaper changes and sleep deprivation.
And mature mothers learning to let go.
For working mothers and stay-at-home mothers.
Single mothers and married mothers.
Mothers with money, mothers without.
This is for you all.

So hang in there.
"Home is what catches you when we fall - and we all fall"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"I remember my mother's prayers and they have always followed me. They have clung to me all my life."
-- Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865)

"My mother was the most beautiful woman I ever saw. All I am I owe to my mother. I attribute all my success in life to the moral, intellectual and physical education I received from her."
-- George Washington (1732-1799)

"Youth fades; love droops, the leaves of friendship fall; A mother's secret hope outlives them all."
-- Oliver Wendell Holmes (1809-1894)

"The heart of a mother is a deep abyss at the bottom of which you will always find forgiveness."
-- Honore' de Balzac (1799-1850)

"The mother's heart is the child's schoolroom."
-- Henry Ward Beecher (1813-1887)

"All that I am or ever hope to be, I owe to my angel Mother."
-- Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865)

"The most important thing a father can do for his children is to love their mother." --Author Unknown

"God could not be everywhere and therefore he made mothers." -- Jewish proverb

"Of all the rights of women, the greatest is to be a mother."
-- Lin Yutang

To a child's ear, "mother" is magic in any language.
- Arlene Benedict, For Mother with Love

God sees us through our Mothers' eyes and rewards us for our virtues.
- Ganeshan Venkatarman, Indian philosopher

Life began with waking up and loving my mother's face
- George Eliot, English novelist

Mother is the name of God in the lips and hearts of children.
- William Makepeace Thackeray, English novelist

A mother is she who can take the place of all others.
- Cardinal Mermillod

A mother's love is instinctual, unconditional, and forever.
- unknown

Mother is the bank where we deposit all our hurts and worries.
- unknown

For mother's sake the child was dear,
and dearer was the mother for the child.
- Samuel Taylor Coleridge, English poet

My mother's love for me was so great I have worked hard to justify it.
- Marc Chagall

No influence is so powerful as that of the mother.
- Sarah Josepha Hale

The strength of motherhood is greater than natural laws.
- Barbara Kingsolver

Mothers are instinctive philosophers.
- Harriet Beecher Stowe

She's my teacher, adviser, and greatest inspiration.
- Whitney Houston

A good mother is worth hundreds of schoolmasters.
- George Herbert

A mother loves her children even when they least deserve to be loved.
- Kate Samperi, "Mothers"

There is no substitute for mother.
- unknown

Mother is the one we count on for the things that matter most of all.
- Katherine Butler Hathaway, "The Journals and Letters of the Little Locksmith"

When it comes to love, Mom's the word.
For all the ways you've helped me grow
I want to say I love you so.
- Renaissance® Greeting Cards, a div. of FTD Inc.

Who ran to help me when I fell,
Or kissed the place to make it well?
....My mother.
- Ann Taylor

A mother understands what a child does not say.
- Jewish proverb


Mother's love is peace.
It need not be acquired, it need not be deserved.
- Erich Fromm, psychologist

A man loves his sweetheart the most,
his wife the best,
but his mother the longest.
- Irish proverb

Mother is the home we come from.
She is nature, soil, ocean.
- Erich Fromm, psychologist

A mother is not a person to lean on but a person to make leaning unnecessary.
- Dorothy C. Fisher (1879-1958)

She brings the sunshine into the house; it is now a pleasure to be there.
- Cecil Beaton, British fashion photographer (1904-80)

Mother love is the fuel that enables a normal human being to do the impossible.
- Unknown

One of the oldest human needs is having someone to wonder
where you are when you don't come home at night.
- Margaret Mead

The hand that rocks the cradle is the hand that rules the world.
- W.R. Wallace

God could not be everywhere and therefore He made mothers.
- Jewish Proverb

There's no job more noble on this earth, than to care for those whom we've given birth.
-unknown

Behind every successfull child is a mother.
-unknown

Any mother could perform the job of several air traffic controllers with ease.
-Lisa Alther

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

RICHER THAN GOLD

You may have tangible wealth untold;
Caskets of jewels and coffers of gold.
Richer than I you can never be --
I had a mother who read to me.
-- Strickland Gillilan (1869-1954)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

WONDERFUL MOTHER

God made a wonderful mother,
A mother who never grows old;
He made her smile of the sunshine,
And He moulded her heart of pure gold;
In her eyes He placed bright shining stars,
In her cheeks fair roses you see;
God made a wonderful mother,
And He gave that dear mother to me.
--Pat O'Reilly

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

M-O-T-H-E-R

"M" is for the million things she gave me,
"O" means only that she's growing old,
"T" is for the tears she shed to save me,
"H" is for her heart of purest gold;
"E" is for her eyes, with love-light shining,
"R" means right, and right she'll always be,
Put them all together, they spell "MOTHER,"
A word that means the world to me.
--Howard Johnson (c. 1915)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

POSITION: Mother, Mom, Mama

JOB DESCRIPTION: Long term, team players needed, for challenging permanent work in an, often chaotic environment. Candidates must possess excellent communication and organizational skills and be willing to work variable hours, which will include evenings and weekends and frequent 24 hour shifts on call. Some overnight travel required, including trips to primitive camping sites on rainy weekends and endless sports tournaments in far away cities. Travel expenses not reimbursed. Extensive courier duties also required.

RESPONSIBILITIES: The rest of your life. Must be willing to be hated, at least temporarily, until someone needs $5. Must be willing to bite tongue repeatedly. Also, must possess the physical stamina of a pack mule and be able to go from zero to 60 mph in three seconds flat in case, this time, the screams from the backyard are not someone just crying wolf. Must be willing to face stimulating technical challenges, such as small gadget repair, mysteriously sluggish toilets and stuck zippers. Must screen phone calls, maintain calendars and coordinate production of multiple homework projects. Must have ability to plan and organize social gatherings for clients of all ages and mental outlooks. Must be willing to be indispensable one minute, an embarrassment the next. Must handle assembly and product safety testing of a half million cheap, plastic toys, and battery operated devices. Must always hope for the best but be prepared for the worst. Must assume final, complete acc! ountability for the quality of the end product. Responsibilities also include floor maintenance and janitorial work throughout the facility.

POSSIBILITY FOR ADVANCEMENT & PROMOTION: Virtually none. Your job is to remain in the same position for years, without complaining, constantly retraining and updating your skills, so that those in your charge can ultimately surpass you.

PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE: None required unfortunately. On-the-job training offered on a continually exhausting basis.

WAGES AND COMPENSATION: Get this! You pay them! Offering frequent raises and bonuses. A balloon payment is due when they turn 18 because of the assumption that college will help them become financially independent. When you die, you give them whatever is left. The oddest thing about this reverse-salary scheme is that you actually enjoy it and wish you could only do more.

BENEFITS: While no health or dental insurance, no pension, no tuition reimbursement, no paid holidays and no stock options are offered; this job supplies limitless opportunities for personal growth and free hugs for life if you play your cards right.