Mother’s Day
Parenting Series: Part 2
In her 2022 book Bittersweet, Susan Cain (of Quiet fame) has a really poignant section about a mother’s love for her child.
She writes that both Darwinism and Buddhism view “the mother-infant bond as the heart of sympathy” at the core of the human experience—and that, according to Darwin, extending that instinct “as far out as we could, from our own family to humanity in general […] would be ‘one of the noblest’ moral achievements of which we’re capable.”
This is my nerdy way of saying, on this Mother’s Day 2026, that moms and mother-figures deserve appreciation and celebration today and every day.
Maternal love is central to the human experience—not just from a reproductive or familial sense, but also in broader social, philosophical, and moral contexts. A mother’s love for her child is “the greatest virtue” we have as humans, and extending that love is “one of the noblest” moral achievements we’re capable of as a species.
I know my mom’s love for me and my siblings, my wife’s love for our three young boys, and my mother-in-law’s love for my in-laws is core to our little family—leading the way with self-sacrifice, patience, understanding, compassion, empathy, sympathy, wisdom, kindness, gentleness, hard work, and strength.
I’m so thankful for my mom, my wife, and my mother-in-law. They are the centerpieces for all we are and do as a family.
So, to all the moms and mother-figures out there: know you are superheroes.
Know that your love is at the very core of the human experience, and that you are appreciated today and every day.
Happy Mother’s Day!
❤️