Happy Mother’s Day to caring women everywhere!

This first picture is of a young mother and her child at the local market in Sa Pa, Viet Nam. The marks on their foreheads are from hot ash poured into a horn and placed on the forehead, which is meant to heal one’s sickness.

The second picture is of a beautiful woman named Li.  She is carrying her youngest child, Xu, on her back. She also has a 4-year-old at home, and is only 20 years old herself. I walked for miles with this woman and she was so nice and very curious, although she couldn’t understand how I could be my age and not have ever been married nor ever had kids. This was quite a shock to her and her culture!

The whole experience made me think about how incredibly different our two lives were, but also about the commonality between all women, no matter the culture.

Women the world over learn from their mothers, and in turn, teach the next generation through their examples. I am lucky to have the best mother in the world, who instilled in me a belief in myself and in the power to do good. Thanks, Mom!

Kudos to all of you moms out there…and to those of us who try to emulate you!

Enjoy your day, and adventure on!

Kristen

(For more great photos, check out DeliciousBaby’s Photo Friday post.)