DEAR ABBY: Today is Mother's Day and I'm feeling rather down. Eight years ago, I found out the joyous news that I was expecting. Following that, a devastating thing happened in my life. I was brutally raped. I gave birth prematurely -- at 5 1/2 months -- and my daughter passed away three hours later.
Advertisement
Abby, I feel that although I didn't have the joy of raising my daughter, I am a mother nonetheless. She has a name and I think of her daily. A good friend of mine disagrees. She says I'm not a mom because I have no living children to show off. She has told some of our mutual friends that I'm "not all there" upstairs.
Could you tell me how to deal with this tactfully? I would also like to wish a Happy Mother's Day to all those who have lost children to miscarriage and stillbirth. -- STILL A MOM IN ALBUQUERQUE
DEAR STILL A MOM: Clip this letter and give it to your "friend," who doesn't sound like much of a friend to me. You ARE a mother -- you're the mother of an angel.