by Bernadette A. Sahm

From the time I was a little girl I wanted to be a mother. When my youngest sister was a tiny baby, my mother would wake me up to calm her down. It was during the night when Iris cried that I was called upon to comfort her. Her tiny fingers would wrap around my index finger as I would rock her back to sleep.

When I was twelve years old, I started babysitting for a Baptist family and their little girl named Ariane just stole my heart. She was the cutesiest little thing, and I vowed that if I ever had a girl, I would name her Ariane and I did.

At the age of 13 I became a C. I. T. a Counselor in Training at both a day camp and resident camp. At Camp Hi Hill and Camp Horseshoe in Pennsylvania I worked my way up from C.I. T. to Counselor to Unit Leader through many childhood summers. At one time I was the youngest Unit Leader. I loved kids and they loved me!

In our family I was the second oldest daughter of five girls. As one of the oldest we were often tasked with looking after the two youngest and we would refer to them as “the kids” are the kids home? Are the kids outside playing?

At the age of nineteen, I married (I know so young!) and three days after my twenty first birthday gave birth to my daughter. I loved being her mom. When her dad died, she was a toddler of two years old, I became both mom and dad. Nothing was too good for her which included expensive private schooling. She was everything to me and being “mom” was the one role I most valued in life.

When I turned forty years old and not long after my oldest child left home, I went on to work at The Children’s Guild in Baltimore. I served in the development department raising much needed fund for kids from poverty and with educational and emotionally difficulties. It was there that I became aware just how much I had given my children as their mother and how many opportunities they were given as our kids.

My last career job supporting children was as the Development Director in a Catholic youth retreat house. Serving children through many decades has always been paramount in my life. I’ve been blessed to support many young people as they transitioned from student to career jobs.

After almost ten years, as a single mom, I would meet my forever husband Brian and take on the mother role for his pre-mature newborn infant twins. Being a mother was everything to me. I came into the twin’s life when they were just eighty-seven days old after their birth mom died.

Being a mother is both the most rewarding and joy that I have ever known in my lifetime and sadly has also afforded me the most grief. Little children are easy to love and care for, when they grow up it can be so much more challenging.

Today and after thirty-eight consecutive years of having children in my home I am happy to say they are on their own. And now I am happily a “dog mom” to our precious bichons Bailey and Buddy.

On this Mother’s Day 2026, I celebrate all the moms out there, no one said it would be easy, but it sure is both memorable and rewarding to know that we did it!

Happy Mother’s Day!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Blessings,

Bernadette

on Facebook at http://www.Facebook.com/bernadetteamoyer

Instagram @bernadetteamoyer @bernadettesahm

#mom #mothers #mothersday #family #children #life #love #experience