A special Mother's Day

Houston Chronicle:

Blanca Chacon still has the first Mother's Day card she received 25 years ago. Yet, she doesn't need to open it to recite the message her little boy scribbled.

As she looks back 25 years, she still giggles at the reminder of a simpler, emptier time before 5-year-old Shawn entered her life. She embraces the memory of the day her son turned a bittersweet holiday into one full of joy.

"Thank you for being my mom," Shawn wrote 25 years ago. "Thank you for being so good to me."

For the first decade of their marriage, Blanca and Antonio "Tony" Chacon tried in vain to have a child. They longed for an opportunity to complete their family with no luck.

Astros righthander Shawn Chacon, who'll start this Mother's Day afternoon against the Dodgers at Dodger Stadium, filled that void when his single mother put him up for adoption.

"We just kind of figured we weren't going to have any children," Blanca Chacon said.

Shawn Chacon (now 30) was one of two children being raised by a single mother when Blanca's co-worker told her of a mother who was considering putting up a child for adoption.

Soon thereafter, they met Shawn and his biological mother. A week after the meeting, the Chacons and their lawyers began the paper work to bring the child into their lives. Per Colorado law, Shawn needed to live with them for a year before the adoption was complete.

"We picked up Shawn and he lived with us for a year, and it was like he had been with us all of our lives," Blanca Chacon said. "He quickly became a part of us. He was a blessing to us. He was just wonderful to have. He adapted real well, and we're just so happy to have him.

"So when it was finally finalized, it was one of the happiest days of our lives. We've never turned back and never regretted a moment, and he is our special child."

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They are all special where there is a mutual love and respect. Happy Mother's Day.