Mother’s Day invites us to pause and think about what motherhood really means: the love, the sacrifice, the strength it takes to show up day after day. For some, that journey follows a well-known path. But for others, it begins in a way they never could’ve planned.  

One of those paths is the connection between a surrogate and the intended mother. It’s not something that’s often front and center in conversations about motherhood, but it should be. That kind of relationship, grounded in trust, shared hope, and an enormous amount of courage, deserves its own spotlight.

This is a story about that kind of bond. When Kate met Deb during their first match call, something just clicked. It’s hard to explain exactly why, maybe it was how Deb and her husband told their story with such honesty, or maybe it was the way both of their husbands started cracking jokes on the very first call, like they’d known each other for years. Whatever it was, they all felt it. This was it. This was the journey they were meant to take together.

Even though they lived on opposite coasts, Deb invited Kate to stay with her family around the time of the embryo transfer. Most surrogates book a hotel room for those few days, but they didn’t want distance. They wanted to really connect. And they did. They spent that time getting to know one another, sharing stories, laughing, and laying the foundation for what would become a beautiful friendship.

The transfer was successful, and the pregnancy that followed felt like it passed in a blur of anticipation and joy. A few months before the due date, Kate and Deb sat down to talk through what they both envisioned for delivery day. Kate felt completely at ease with Deb and her husband being in the delivery room. They had walked every step of this together. It only made sense to finish it side by side.

When the day came, the room was filled with emotion. A perfect baby girl was born and placed into the waiting arms of her parents. In those first moments, Kate found herself repeating just one thing: “She’s so beautiful.” Over and over again, those words came out. Simple, true, and full of meaning. What better way to describe the moment, or any mother, really?

This Mother’s Day, let’s remember that motherhood doesn’t look just one way. It lives in the woman who carries the child, and in the woman who waits with open arms to hold them. It’s in the strength they share, the faith they hold, and the love they pour into something greater than themselves.

So today, let’s honor them all! The moms who raised us, and the women who help others become moms too. Every path to motherhood is its own kind of miracle. And every mother, no matter how her story begins, deserves to be seen.

To protect privacy, names have been changed.