“When I stopped seeing my mother with the eyes of a child, I saw the woman who gave birth to myself.” ~ Nancy Friday
I hope this past Mother’s Day was a special day for you. Whether you were able to spend time with your Mom or be in remembrance with her in your heart, I hope you celebrated your relationship and all that she is to you.
Mother’s Day evokes a vast array of emotions for me. Not all the time but sometimes I feel the sting that I’m not a Mom. Although these days, with Mom having Alzheimer’s and all that is involved in caring for her, I am a mother in a different sort of way that is not the norm.
I will say that my most wonderful qualities are those that without a doubt are thanks to my Mom. She has given me character traits that will always be a part of me.
If you see in me a woman who is loving, kind, and generous, thank you, Mom I learned by watching you.
If you see in me a woman with a solid foundation, strong convictions and faith in all that is possible. Thank you, Mom. I watched you every day growing up believing in God, having faith and knowing that everything turns out for the best and exactly as it should even when the unexpected comes along.
If you see in me a woman who is loyal, trustworthy, honest and strong, thank you Mom, you showed me how to use these qualities to be the best person that I can be. You showed me how to face the hard times and keep moving forward.
If you see in me a woman who loves her family, cares about their well being, will always be there for them no matter what and will always try to help in any way she can, thank you Mom, the love in your heart spread to my heart to love our family the best way I know how.
If you see in me a woman who has fabulous friendships and loves her friends as she does her family and who knows that when we become friends we will most likely be friends for years and years. Thank you, Mom. You were my very first friend and your friendship has never waivered. I’ve learned so much about friendship and then some.
If you see in me a woman who loves people, tries to help, gets involved and wants always to make a difference. Thank you, Mom. You taught me about community and giving back.
If you see in me a woman who loves to laugh and make others smile. Thank you, Mom, you taught me to have a sense of humor and to be light hearted.
Being a mother comes in all different ways, so if you see in me nurturing qualities of loving and caring for another human being, wanting only the best for them that life has to offer, always praying and supporting in a way that they always know love and are safe. Thank you Mom. I certainly learned from you what it means to love and to always keep my heart open to all the love that is around me.
I’ve only scratched the surface of all that I’ve learned from Mom. There’s so much more that I can continue to go on and on. I have a beautiful Mom and feel so blessed that she was picked especially for me. I couldn’t have asked for a better teacher, friend, role-model and supporter of anything and everything that is me.
Do I also know that with all these good qualities there comes some that are more challenging, negative and cumbersome? Yes, most definitely. And do I learn and share some of these with Mom? Of course I do.
Do we both share qualities that given the opportunity to do away with them, we would? Yes, we would, but we also realize that some of those challenging qualities such as giving until it hurts, taking on more than we can handle all the time, feelings that we are not good enough, putting others first so much that we forget to put ourselves on the list, not always having the best self-esteem or confidence are the very same qualities that each time they surface gives us yet another lesson in love and forgiveness?
That’s what is so great about it.
The most powerful lesson of all from Mom is her unconditional love and her ability to forgive. They go hand in hand. And although forgiveness at times can seem the most difficult act to do, I have never regretted doing just that. It is the fastest way that I know to feel better and move on.
Thank you, Mom, you’ve taught me well and I never stop learning from you every day.
My one wish for her now is that all that she has taught me is reflected back to her every day. That she knows and feels all the love in my heart to care for her as she deals with this insidious disease called Alzheimer’s. And for every day that she is here, may I never forget her lessons. As different as she is right now, she is still the most beautiful person that I know and adore. I thank God every day for blessing me with this unbelievable woman that is my Mom.
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