Every Mother Counts: Counting Your Blessings

My sister, on right, and me, before the More half marathon

My kids never really got why I was so excited on THEIR birthdays. But the day each of my 3 kids was born is extra special to me because on those days, I became a mother.

Ok, technically I was already a mother after the first child, but still - your child’s day of birth is a very powerful day.

That’s why the Every Mother Counts organization resonates with so many moms. Christy Turlington Burn’s maternal health organization is a sobering reminder that every day, 800 women die giving birth. That works out to one woman every two minutes.

Post run - still smiling

I was thinking of this statistic as I ran the More half marathon in Central Park. The race is a celebration of the power of women. My sister and I ran together and we got a sister chant going. Not every runner was a mother, but we all cheered as moms high-fived their kids on the race route.

One of the reasons I run now is that all three of my daughters run and we sometimes run together. My middle daughter and I are trying to get into the NYC marathon.

The day I first became a mother, I was exhausted, thrilled, overwhelmed,  ecstatic, excited. I want every mom to have such an empowering experience (well, maybe not the exhaustion) so I pledged the "Take 2 minutes to Take 2 actions."

These were simple action to accomlishs: running 2 miles using the Charity Miles app, (so that half marathon was a bit longer…) donating $2 to Every Mother Counts, asking two friends to participate.

This Mother's Day, count your blessings as a mom., and help those who were denied the chance.