By Lizz Bottrell, Citizen Staff

With Mother’s Day on the horizon, I wanted to use this space this week to honour all of the hard working mothers out there. Of course, I will be a little selfish, putting the spotlight on my own Mothers.

Yes, I did say Mothers. Throughout my years growing up, I’ve been fortunate enough to have not just one but two Moms contribute to the person I am today.

My first mother, Elaine, she’s the one who gave birth to me and raised me until I was 14 or so. My parents divorced when I was eight, so she raised me and my two sisters as a single mother. Despite the fact that we didn’t have the most money growing up, we always had food on the table and all the necessities we needed.

She taught me a great deal about compassion in life. I’d be ready to bet that most people who know me find me a very compassionate person and I owe that to her. My mom also taught me a great deal about always trying my hardest, which could explain why I’m such a perfectionist today. She also lead by example, showing me that acceptance of all people was important. Some people today seem to be very ignorant towards anyone who is different than them, but thankfully for me, I had a mom who made us feel very shameful for judging another human being. I think that’s a very important quality to have in today’s society.

When I was a little girl, I was always writing stories and poems, most of which to my embarrassment, my mom constantly reminds me she’s kept. I guess that’s a mom thing. Anyways, she always encouraged me to write, which I thank her for in the greatest way today, seeing as how I now make a career out of writing. I know that she’s always taken a lot of pride in the things that I do, but I owe her a lot for the things that I do and the person I’ve become.

But she wasn’t the only mother who shaped the woman I am today.

Six years ago, my other mom Jamie entered into my life. My Dad found a woman who made him happy, and despite my best attempts during their early stages of dating, they remain together. I feel terrible now for what I put her through when she first joined our family, but to my defense, I was a teenage girl who had a lot of freedoms living with just my Dad. I guess I had this fear she would take them all away, which she didn’t. Thankfully, she realized early on that since I was in my last year of high school, there was no point in taking all my freedoms away.

Jamie ended up being a great addition to our family. With her, she brought three kids, Katie, Jeremiah and Josh along with Josh’s two kids, Maddy and Sam. Leaving her family behind in the States to move to Canada to be with my family, Jamie made a huge change. Looking back now, I wish I had been more grown up so that I could have been more accommodating. Lesson learned.

Katie and I have since become very much like sisters, she’s one of my best friends. Her two-year-old son Dakota is one of my favourite little guys in the whole world. So having Jamie join our family and bringing her own kids along, really gave me a real family feeling, which I had never really felt before. Since my parents had divorced when I was so young, I could never recall the feeling of having a mom and a dad. Jamie gave me that feeling and for that I thank her a thousand times over.

That’s not the only thing Jamie’s done for me. Every day she’s there for me, just like any mother would be. In any situation where she’s introducing me to someone, I’m always introduced as her daughter, which gives me this certain feeling of pride. I know that I hold a special place in her heart, just like she holds a special place in mine.

Jamie has taught me many great things including how to make the greatest vegetarian lasagna ever - trust me, even the loyal meat-eaters love it! Probably the greatest gift she’s given me though, is a feeling of self-worth. Jamie constantly reminds me that I deserve the best and makes sure that I settle for nothing less, and really, what else can you ask for from a mother.

To both of my Moms, Happy Mother’s Day! To all the other Moms out there, thank you for making our lunches, cleaning up after us, and ensuring we had the fundamentals we needed to succeed in life, we couldn’t have done it without you. Happy Mother’s Day!