Happy Mother’s Day

There are days when I am a frustrated, irritated, exhausted mother. There are days that make me question why anyone has kids or if I’m good enough to have the kids I have. But most days, I’m a confident, loving, firm yet gentle mother who has learned to be all of these things from my own mother.

Growing up, my mom was both “mom” and “dad” to me. My father died when I was too little to remember, so she had to step up and take the reigns on both roles. And for what it’s worth, she’s done a great job.

My mom was always encouraging me to try new things, talk to new people, take a stand for what I believed in. From a very young age, I can remember Mom telling me to experience everything I possibly could (within reason, of course) because it would make me a stronger, smarter, more well rounded individual. She let me play in cardboard boxes to strengthen my imagination. She encouraged me to sing in front of the church. She worked her butt off to make money for me to take musical instrument lessons and dance classes when that’s what I wanted to do. She listened to hours of silly whining and complaining about so-and-so at school who just was so mean to me that day or about boys that I liked who didn’t know I was alive. But what will always stand out to me is that she was always, always present at my recitals, concerts, and other occasions, regardless of what else was going on in her life.

She’d make me little trophies for my piano recitals and display them at home. We’d go out for ice cream after band concerts. We’d have special weekend getaways, just the two of us, because we couldn’t afford a HUGE vacation to [insert expensive destinations here] – and ya know what? Those were always more fun than the dramatic family hell trips, uh, vacations I heard my friends talk about. She’d write me notes every morning when I was in school because she had to be at work before I left for the bus. I don’t remember what all they said, but I do remember that they always started with “I love you,” and that’s the important part anyway.

So she may be sitting there questioning/pondering the things she’s done in her life as this medical journey unfolds before her, but this Mother’s Day, I just want her and the rest of the world to know how fortunate I am to have such an awesome mom. Lord knows we’ve had our differences through the years, our share of fighting and weeping and gnashing of teeth, but looking back, I know she was just doing what she thought was best for me and I really appreciate it.

Because of her, I am who I am today – a person I [mostly] like and even love – and I don’t think there’s anything that speaks more loudly of someone’s parenting abilities than that.

I love you, Mom. Happy 25th Mother’s Day.

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