It is hard to know what to write, this Mother's Day.

My mother was born in 1908. When she was buried last Saturday, there was no one in the church who had lived a single day in a world without her in it. That she is no longer here is incomprehensible -- unthinkable. Our minds -- mine at least -- simply cannot wrap themselves around the concept. The matriarch has fallen? Not possible. And yet...

Can you imagine how much fun the GOP would have had if the Democrats had pulled something like this?

Republicans Vote Against Moms; No Word Yet on Puppies, Kittens
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It was already shaping up to be a difficult year for congressional Republicans. Now, on the cusp of Mother's Day, comes this: A majority of the House GOP has voted against motherhood.

On Wednesday afternoon, the House had just voted, 412 to 0, to pass H. Res. 1113, "Celebrating the role of mothers in the United States and supporting the goals and ideals of Mother's Day," when Rep. Todd Tiahrt (R-Kan.), rose in protest.

"Mr. Speaker, I move to reconsider the vote," he announced.

Rep. Kathy Castor (D-Fla.), who has two young daughters, moved to table Tiahrt's request, setting up a revote. This time, 178 Republicans cast their votes against mothers.

It has long been the custom to compare a popular piece of legislation to motherhood and apple pie. Evidently, that is no longer the standard. Worse, Republicans are now confronted with a John Kerry-esque predicament: They actually voted for motherhood before they voted against it.

Republicans, unhappy with the Democratic majority, have been using such procedural tactics as this all week to bring the House to a standstill, but the assault on mothers may have gone too far. House Minority Leader John Boehner, asked yesterday to explain why he and 177 of his colleagues switched their votes, answered: "Oh, we just wanted to make sure that everyone was on record in support of Mother's Day."

By voting against it?

Mother-hating morons.

Promoted by Rain

Mother's Day is one of those holidays that make me a bit wistful. My mom died in 1993. My paternal grandmother died in 1998. My maternal grandmother died in 1999. Neither of my parents had sisters, and all my aunts-by-marriage are either dead or divorced and departed from the family scene. I have no children.

Don't think that because I say all this that I'm feeling sorry for myself, because I'm not. It's just life, and the loss of loved ones is something every single person in the world goes through. And, while I've never given birth, I have given life; and that experience taught me far more about motherhood than anything outside actually bearing a child could have.