MOPS

Mother's Day makes me miss my mother, who died quite a while ago. But it also makes me appreciate how lucky I was to have her fairly nearby so I could easily ask her advice when it came to my own job of motherhood.

Unfortunately, in our current mobile society many young families live far away from their relatives. When having difficulties or good things to share, texting, e-mail, and even phone calls are just not the same as having a mother physically present.

That's why MOPS exists. Although the letters officially stand for Mothers of PreSchoolers, the group is open to mothers of kids from birth through Kindergarten. Sometimes even women pregnant with their first babies join.

At the end of this month I'll be stepping down as one of the Mentor Moms of the local group. Mentor Moms are women who have already raised at least one kid and participate in the group to share their experience and remind young mothers going through difficult times that "This, too, shall pass." I was asked to take that position after speaking to the local group a couple of times.

MOPS is an international organization with thousands of local groups where mothers of young kids can share their experiences, support each other, make life-long friends, and have fun while their children are cared for. Although it's a Christian group, there's almost no discussion of religion in the programs, with the possible exception of Christmas and Easter celebrations. Anyone who is interested can learn more and probably find a local group at the website, http://www.mops.org/