Every spring, there’s a weekend in May when the violets and lily of the valley are both in bloom, and I search in the back of the cabinet for the mini elephant-shaped creamer to hold a teeny tiny bouquet, which then fills the entire room with fragrance. During the following week, I smile every time I see it. Two minutes of attention for a whole week of joy!

Dear ones, life is busy and distracting, and some days can be bleak.

Let us seek out the tiny joys all around us,

and bask in their light.

On this day especially, one possible joy is the chance to reflect on all who have nurtured us. Mother’s Day is complicated and painful for so many, and at the same time we have all been mothered – by family and friends and teachers and communities and forests and lakes and pets and books and ourselves. I am one of the very lucky ones who has been supported by all of the above – and most of all, luckiest of all, by my own dear mom, with the most steadfast love I will ever know. If you have ever cared for a person or place or idea with even a tiny fraction of this kind of devotion, thank you. You have made our world a better place.