Any mother will tell you that having your first child is exciting and scary. I know that was true for me. Finally meeting my daughter, Lily, was indescribably wonderful, but the weeks after her birth still make me shudder. Yet those days were scary not because of a mom's normal worries about her baby's health, although such concerns certainly kept me awake when I was pregnant. Those days were frightening because of what happened to me, not Lily.

Lily was born healthy and happy on August 4, 2005. Like other moms, I was far more concerned with her welfare than my own. At first, things were much better than I expected. My worry that I would not lose my pregnancy weight proved completely unfounded. I dropped the pounds quickly, but I was not concerned about it, nor was my doctor. Between the two of us, we figured that eating well and breastfeeding Lily accounted for the rapid weight loss. Sure, some days I was unbelievably tired, but is there a new mom who isn't? The fact that I went back to work after four weeks probably didn't help either, or so I thought.

I did things in a rather conventional order. I graduated from university, got married and hoped for children. None came. So my husband and I adopted a son, fell in love and longed for more children. I took fertility drugs and had two daughters. My arms, heart and plate were full, and the world seemed just about perfect. I helped with Standupgirl.com because I knew my son’s life could have been ended before his birth, depriving my world of joy. I wanted other moms to know, before it was too late, that their children are amazing, too. But every time I saw the tag line ‘Been There Girls Speak Out’, I cringed. I had no right to speak from my ordered, charmed little world.

It's that time of year again. But as the whole world seems to be dizzy with decorating, spending and cooking up a storm, there are others who aren't catching onto the festive spirit. Some are holding themselves back from all the joy floating around in the air. A deep tingling in the hearts of all people, fulfilling a long ago uttered prophecy by the angels to some shepherds during the first noel "On earth, peace and goodwill to all people."

I'm not one to get excited by forwarded e-mail.  But this one came from a dear friend, so I read it.  And right off the bat, I was hooked.  I don't know who originally wrote this, but her words are timeless and true.  And so I share them with you, the Stand Up Moms.

*Invisible Mother*.....

It all began to make sense, the blank stares, the lack of response, the way one of the kids will walk into the room while I'm on the phone and ask to be taken to the store. Inside I'm thinking, 'Can't you see I'm on the phone?'

Every girl, every woman, makes mistakes. It’s inevitable. Unfortunately, we put the spotlight on our mistake allowing ourselves to feel shame or to feel inferior to others.  But we should turn off the spotlight and only be concerned with whether or not we started making right decisions after our mistakes. No one can change the past.  Not possible.  Can't happen. We live in the now, and can make the future different than the past. It’s never too late to turn a mistake into an opportunity.

Everyone needs to accept that they are not perfect; therefore, in their past there are going to be blunders. Everyone has these blunders - even the best of us. When you make a mistake the first thing you have to do is accept it, but after that, you have to make the decision to not let the mistake define you. If you make a mistake that you regret you are in good company. There is nothing new under the sun and there is no mistake that you have made that someone else has not already made.