Or took part in raising you as a mother would and helped shape you into the person you are. It doesn't take pushing a child through your ****** or signing a paper to make a person like a mother. I had an aunt I always gave a Mother's Day gift to. She didn't have any children, she was a social worker, but she was like a second grandmother to us and merited a gift in my eyes, same as her sister, my grandmother. My daughter is young but if she only develops half the relationship my aunt had with us with my sisters, I'll be forever grateful (already am) for my sisters. They are loving aunts and can be appreciated, too.

In some families, the aunts can be mother figures. It was like that with my aunt, but isn't quite the same with my daughter and sisters. As of right now, they have the aunt/niece relationship. I had that and more. Heck, my aunt taught me to drive! I think whether this is and FML depends on OP'S family. But if OP felt that she didn't merit a card, maybe it's the aunt realtionship. I always wanted to give my aunt one, she was a big part of our lives.

my thoughts exactly, didn't know that marital status defines woman as a mother

Yeah, that part bothered me; it seemed kind of sexist to say a woman needs to be married to deserve a Mother's Day present. If anything, single moms are some of the strongest moms out there. The childless part is a perfectly acceptable reason, though. The definition of motherhood is having children or at least being a mother-figure to them. I'm the only child of three who chose to be childless but sometimes my family jokingly sends me e-cards for being a Cat Mama. It's never something I would demand, though.