mother

I have been influenced by many women during my life. Teachers, friends, sisters, aunts, grandmothers, cousins. The list goes on and on. But none are more precious to me than my own mother. She shaped who I was to become.

I was spoiled as a child. Not in the normal way you're thinking. OK, yeah in that way too. But I was spoiled because I had a stay-at-home mom. I didn't know at the time that it was unusual to have a mom who made dinner every night, who made cookies from scratch and even sewed some of my clothes. She would read me books and play games she secretly hated (yes, Monopoly I'm looking at you) for hours. I had no idea how lucky I was.

As the backbone of our family, my mother is always there with gentle encouragement. She has never said an unkind word of anyone and put a face to the very definition of "service." There is never a time when she's too busy to help someone. My friends always used one word that defined her whole disposition - sweet.

When I started school, she began working. But you would never know that from the state of our home. The house was always clean, dinners were always made, laundry always done. She taught by example, knowing that it's easier to be comfortable in a clean house. She is always there when I need her, even though we live in different states. As a child I could count on her to hold my hair back when I was sick, double check my homework and not be too mad when I colored with purple markers on the fireplace.

When I became a teenager she gave me an out - if I ever didn't want to do something (ie, dangerous, illegal, boring) - I could use her as an excuse. A well acted "dang, my mom won't let me" works wonders in certain situations. As an adult, we worked at the same business for awhile. Every Friday we'd go to the same restaurant, get the same meal and sit in the same place. Those are some of my favorite memories. When I moved 600 miles away I could count on a phone call every day to make sure I was alright.

And now that I have a daughter, I have a new understanding of all she does for me. How she could rock her babies to sleep every night because she couldn't bear to hear them cry. And how every success, pain, sorrow and joy becomes your own. I can only hope that I'm as good a mother as she is.

I love you, Mom. Happy Mother's Day.