Today I find myself calling on some painful memories that make me oh-so-humble and grateful for what I have. I’ll try to get straight to the point. Tomorrow I’ll be celebrating mother’s day with my daughter and my mother and siblings, and then with my honey’s family. I look forward to it for so many reasons. This will be my third mother’s day as a mommy. Not a day goes by, even though I get frustrated with my toddler many days out of the week, that I don’t value my time with her. The same goes for my mom and I. The time I’m really looking back on is to my 26th birthday. I’ll be the big 3-0 this year…you do the math. I had no daughter of my own at the time and I thought for sure, I was celebrating the last birthday I would have with my mother. I’m writing this with a heavy heart but can quickly be uplifted by saying and truly meaning, thank GOD my mom is still here. She battled breast cancer and won. This was nothing short of a miracle. Then, around Christmas of 2009, my mom let my brother, sister, and I know that she had pancreatic cancer. If you know the statistics, you know just how devastating this news was. We thought, surely, this is it. I found myself praying and hoping for the best, while woefully preparing for the worst. Would you believe, here we are in spring of 2012, and she is still here? NO LIE! She is still here!
The point that I’m getting at is that she did it for us…her children. A mother’s love is unconditional, unmatched, and often unconventional. It goes to no end. She knows her children like none other, and despite her own woes, keeps fighting, loving, caring, and praying for her children. She knows what she must do, and JUST DOES IT. Nothing at all has to make sense here because each situation is unique. Every mother knows this. There is no giving up because we, as moms, know that our children count on us to take the weight of the world off their shoulders, and we do, daily, whether we are thanked for it or not. We need no thanks to continue, but don’t doubt how long one “thanks, mom” will last us. We cherish every moment, feel terrible for punishing our children at times long after they’ve forgotten about it, and want so badly for our kids to still be our babies, despite how hard we work at making sure they don’t just grow up, but do so right.
There are so many women, who are also moms that have shared with me their wisdom, their input and so on. Whether or not I took the advice, agreed or disagreed with their way of doing things, I respect them all. Being a mom is no easy task, I know. I love the way the other moms in my life love their children, uniquely to them. I wouldn’t trade any of these women for the world. I’d especially like to thank my stepmom, Laina, and my honey’s mom, Donna, for being such pivotal women who have influenced my life greatly in one way or another. And of course, GRANDMA! Don’t forget gramma! Love mine!
Most of all, despite our differences and the school of hard knocks we’ve had to go through together and still do sometimes, I want to thank my mom. She has helped to shape me, guide me, and encourage me to be the me I am today. I’ll be the first to say that I didn’t like all of my upbringing, and it didn’t matter if I did or didn’t agree with it, because she was and is mom. I’m grateful that she fought for her life, literally, to be here for me, my brother and sister, and so so so much for my daughter. Grandma is one of her very bestest friends. She is retired from the U.S. Army, has been deployed many times, to serve her country so the rest of us could have freedom here at home. But, I am reminded daily, and sometimes she still struggles, that my mom fought for her life to be here for us: her children. Thank you, mom for showing me what being a mom really means. Thank you for all you’ve done and still do. Happy mother’s day!
To all the other mommies out there, happy mother’s day! I know what you all do for your children even if we do it differently. Know that I respect all of you. Be blessed this day and every day. =)
*And even if you don’t particularly like your mom, at least thank her for you wouldn’t be here without her!
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