Happy Mother’s Day. Such a beautiful opportunity to celebrate those wonderful women in our lives. What blessings they are to all of us!!
I’m going to tell you a little bit about my own mom. My mom really is the best. She’s everything I could have needed in my few 30+ years or so. And I love her for all of it.
I consider my childhood and growing up years to have been fairly typical. I grew up as the oldest in a bigger family. My parents were very middle class -- my dad a was a blue-collar worker and my mom stayed at home with all of us kids. I vividly recall as a child, for whatever reason, never really liking my mom, which is an absolute horrible thing to admit, but it’s true. I have one specific memory of getting in an argument with her, I was probably only 8 years old. I gathered all the trinket, mementos and gifts she had given me over my few young years and laid them in a pile next to her. She cried. I cried.
Fast forward to my middle school and high school years. She did her best, as did I. Growing up is hard for kids and moms alike. Especially as the oldest child, I was very much, as they say, the guinea pig. But she was perfect for me. She came to my rescue at just the right time, as I felt vulnerable and very much alone while trying to navigate the my teenage life. She somehow knew just what to say, to make me feel that I was really noticed after all.
My mom made it to every single one of my high school volleyball games, and let me tell you, there were a lot! She was my number-one fan, and I truly always knew that. She was there through the wins and losses. We laughed, celebrated, cried, and cheered together. What’s even more, she sacrificed a lot of her time and money, never once complaining. Things still weren’t rainbows and butterflies between us, but she was there for me, and I respected her for that.
Then came the time for me to leave the nest. I’m pretty sure that summer before I moved away for college was over in a week. When she dropped me off at school, nearly six hours away, and drove off, I will never forget her tears as she backed out of the parking lot. And my tears fell just as hard. It was a trying time for me. For us both really, and what I learned over those few years on my own, then as I eventually got married was: I need my mom.
Turns out, it only took me 20 years to love her for all that she is. She’s selfless and caring. She puts family first always. She is loyal and supportive, uplifting and spiritual, and not to mention, the best grandma around. She’s certainly not perfect, but she sure is the perfect mom for me. And how I love her.
And now as I’ve watched her struggle and deal with the loss of family members and serious work concerns, once again, she’s cried, and I’ve cried. As our life continues on and our challenges only seem to grow, I can’t help but be grateful to have her on my side, always willing to advocate for me and back me up.
It's kind of amazing what moms are willing to do -- the love they pour into raising their children and seeing to their every needs. It truly cannot be matched. As a mother now, I constantly catch myself doing all the things I swore "I would never do" when it came time to raise my own children. But you know what? Turns out my mom just might have been on to something after all.... cause it really is the best way! Moms sacrifice and plan and care in such strategic ways. And 99.9% of the time they really are always right! The late nights and early hours are all selflessly given without second thoughts or questions. The energy and stress, grey hairs and wrinkles, all of it just a declaration of our love.
