My greatest calling in life has been to be mom to Lorial, Jemma, and Stirling. I’ve run global businesses, achieved unthinkable goals based on nothing but sheer will, and instinctively plowed through insurmountable career challenges with conviction, but I’ve never been more vulnerable and insecure than when making decisions on how to raise my daughters. Being a mom is such a gift, but also the ultimate responsibility. I wanted to give my girls what my mom has given me – everything that matters. Even when she didn’t know what that was, she provided it – the instincts of a mother.

Somehow, my mom has just always known what I needed, and she’s been there. From her, l learned to be vulnerable in motherhood and trust that my instincts will guide me in providing what matters for my daughters as they grow and develop, especially now with so much change and uncertainty.

This Mother’s Day sheds a special light on the role of mothers in our lives. During the pandemic, families who would normally spend the holiday together are isolated, or conversely, mothers with young kids at home are now doing more work than ever, by becoming teachers, hairdressers, camp counselors, all while trying to work from home, and just trying to keep households operational – providing everything that matters.

Right now, mothers and non-mothers alike are instinctively rising to the occasion. This unreal time is showing us who we really are, what we are capable of accomplishing together, and what truly matters.  Every day, we see firsthand the hard work of mothers and other women who willingly shoulder the responsibility of motherhood and inspire and empower others around them. Please join me in celebrating their work and their instinctive caring for others that so often go unseen every single day.

For people who are honoring the memory of their mothers or celebrating mother figures, we are holding you in our hearts on Mother’s Day.

To all the mothers, grandmothers, aunties, single dads, and other supportive adults, your work, instincts, and willingness to provide “everything that matters” means the world to us. From our hearts, thank you and happy Mother’s Day.

In gratitude and community,  

Loria B. Yeadon 
President & CEO, YMCA of Greater Seattle