This weekend we celebrate Mother’s Day.

It’s the perfect time to show how much we appreciate our mothers, grandmothers, stepmothers, god mothers, mothers-in-law, big sisters who acted as caregivers, babysitters who helped to raise us or any maternal figure who had a great impact on our lives.

So, the first thing I should do in this space today is acknowledge that have a wonderful mother-in-law in Midge Strough of Bridgeport. Not only did she raise my husband, Mike, to be a caring, hardworking, understanding, creative and fun-loving person, but she also accepted me from the first time we met as another member of her family.

Thank you, Midge, for all you have done for Mike and myself and for your daughter, Amy, along with her husband Dick and your grandchildren, Brooke and Tyler. We all love you.

Although I am fortunate to have Midge and the entire Strough family, I am sad to say that my own mother, Grace Compston, died nearly six years ago. I wish that she were still here so that we could celebrate her this weekend.

But, Mom was the type of person who dealt with the here and now. While she certainly missed and mourned her parents and other family members who passed before her, she did not let that stop her from living her life or from being devoted to the causes she believed in.

That brings me to an entirely different topic. Early Friday morning I had the privilege of serving as a judge for the Union Local Middle School sixth grade Famous American Fair. Language arts teacher Sheryl Sonk invited me to participate along with several other individuals. She provided all of the criteria and explained how we should proceed before turning us loose to visit student displays to view their work and ask them about the person they chose to focus on.

While I was perusing the booths the students had set up, I was surprised at some of the choices they had made. Some reached far back into the past to learn more about figures such as our early presidents and Revolutionary War soldiers. Others decided to study people who lived during the mid-20th century, making their marks on our society in many different ways.

The most interesting thing that I noticed, though, was how many of the female students seemed to be truly inspired by the groundbreaking women they had selected for their projects. From pioneers on the prairie to those crossing new frontiers into space travel, these girls chose a diverse group of famous Americans to learn about.

Looking back to our country’s roots, one sixth-grader chose to focus on one of America’s first female soldiers, Deborah Samson Gannett. This sixth-grader knew all about how Gannett disguised herself as a man in order to join the Army and was discovered only after falling ill and being attended to by a physician. And the girl seemed genuinely impressed that Gannett later went on a speaking tour, making a living by telling her stories from the war.

Another student braided her hair and donned a long skirt and apron in a bid to portray Laura Ingalls Wilder. She said she was impressed not only by the adventures Ingalls and her family had as they helped settle the American West, but also by her story-telling abilities later in life. The girl seemed keenly aware of the importance of preserving the stories of the nation’s past and the way people lived at the time and educating children about that.

Fast forward to the 20th century and the accomplishments of women who remained stateside while many American men went overseas to fight in World War II. I’m not referring to the “Rosie the Riveters” who worked in factories making needed supplies and equipment. Instead, I’m referring to the All-American Girls’ Professional Baseball League. And one UL sixth-grader discovered that a member of the league, Rose Gacioch was a native of Wheeling. The student was proud to say she had a lot in common with Gacioch, noting that she, too, is a pitcher.

From there, one of the students looked ahead to the Space Age. For her project, she chose Poppy Northcutt, the first female employee of Mission Control at NASA. This young lady said she also has some things in common with her subject, including being good at math. Not only does she hope to one day work at NASA herself, but she was very inspired by Northcutt’s later work included advocating for the women’s rights movement and, eventually, becoming an attorney.

I don’t mean to take anything away from the boys in the class; plenty of them also created impressive displays with fascinating subjects, but the way these women inspired the girls who studied them was notable for me.

But then again, I have no reason to be surprised by this fact. I know plenty of inspiring women who have accomplished incredible things. And many of those individuals are the people that we call Mom or Grandma.

So, as we all celebrate Mother’s Day this weekend, I hope we will not only appreciate the small things moms everywhere do for us every day, but also remember to be inspired by the incredible people that the women we love really are — whether they are filling the role of a mother or not.

Happy Mother’s Day!