Dear ,

There is a title that changes everything.

Not a job title. Not a degree. But the one spoken softly in delivery rooms and carried for a lifetime—Mother.

The moment a woman steps into that role, nothing is ever the same again. Her body bears the evidence: the caesarean scar earned before her child took their first breath, the hormonal battles of pregnancy, the exhaustion of breastfeeding while the baby still cries. Her heart bears the rest of it.

Mothers weep in silence so their children can sleep in peace. Some stay in marriages that have long since broken them—not from weakness, but from devotion. Some leave careers they loved. Others enter the workforce with fire in their eyes because the children need more. Many cross oceans and continents, leaving behind language, community, and comfort—boarding flight after flight—just to give their children a better chance.

And not one of them ever truly retires.

Even when the children are grown, she gives counsel. When words fail, she prays. When she is gone, she lives on in how her children love, endure, and show up for others.

I wrote about this kind of love in Beyond the Goat Pen.

My mother is the reason that book exists. Her life, her sacrifices, her quiet and fierce endurance — they are on every page. So are Omotunde and Morayo, two women whose selflessness I could not let the world forget.

If you have not yet read it, this Mother's Day is the perfect time. And if you have one—perhaps it is time to gift it to someone whose story mirrors theirs. It's available on all online stores.

Today, I celebrate every mother — the tired one, the unacknowledged one, the one far from home, the one who gave everything quietly and asked for nothing in return.

I celebrate you. I celebrate mine.

Happy Mother's Day. 💛

With love, Latifah Ajetunmobi Author | Coach | Advocate The Latifah Ajetunmobi LLCwww.latifahajet.com