Harry’s first-grade Mother’s Day drawing, 1996.

My tribute to moms honors one in particular. I’ve never met her. We’ve only corresponded online. She wrote to me two weeks ago, and her words have been swirling around my mind with hopefulness. Here’s the note.

“I have two boys and my oldest plays with his friends’ dolls, Barbies, or tea sets. He also watches “My Little Pony” and loves all of the Tinker Bell movies. (I have seen The Pirate Fairy at least 6 times already.) He gets pedicures with me and has his toes painted blue. While he does play with cars and Legos, plays video games and loves superheroes, he doesn’t see anything being boys or girls’ toys or movies. I have never told him, “That’s for girls or boys, don’t do that.” But I have seen the effect on society when even kids his own age say, “You shouldn’t do that.” And while it saddens me, my son just looks at them and shrugs it off.

“I love my son’s view of the world because most adults will never see what he sees. He has never asked, “Why does that person look that way?” or “Why are they like that?” He accepts everybody for who they are. While I don’t think he is going to be gay or transgendered when he grows up – I could be wrong – I will accept him no matter what, as long as he is happy.”

On Mother’s Day, I’ll be celebrating this fierce mom and others like her who reject gender stereotyping and just let their kids be. They’re focused on raising happy sons and daughters. They teach self-worth and the value of people around them. They show strength and courage and teach kids to have hope. As my son once pointed out to me, MOM upside down spells WOW.