A little bit of madre

I am grateful for my mom. Over the past thirty- six years she has taught me what it means to be a mom, wife and friend throughout the course of my life. It is not as much through her words, but her actions. It has been thirty- six years of phone calls and conversations of listening when I need an ear and providing a hug or a shoulder to cry on when it was needed. It has been the thousands of pancake breakfasts and home made brownies that just seemed to appear no matter what stressors were going on outside of meal and kid time. It was the opportunity to be loved in manner that now, as an adult, I am in sheer awe of. My mom provided the life long definition of love, commitment and selflessness. These are now things I am able to pass onto my own family. Recycling what was and now what is becomes pretty fantastic.

Books and lectures can inform us, but the examples that our parents or guardians have set for us and the examples we now set as adults can transform us and those around us. Sometimes the examples that some of us were given were not health, but as we take strides through the different chapters of life it becomes a conscious choice to shed the negative and embrace the positive. And if it may be that your examples were paltry and non existent, it is then the step to transform yourself into the person your future partner, children, friends, etc. would want you to be.

In the past ten years as a counselor I have heard some pretty heart breaking stories of loss, inadequate parenting and a million other things that have had serious implications on many hearts. My heart aches with these stories, but it only provides further appreciation and reverence for the woman that God chose to pair me with. 

As I think of the many in my life whose mom's are no longer with them it reminds me how very fleeting this life is. Every holiday isn't wonderful and happy for everyone, that is something life taught me at a young age. But each day, each holiday and with every year that passes I am grateful for the now and those I love who share these special moments. Embrace the now and the beauty of what was and what is. 

I hope you took the opportunity to tell your mom how much she means to you on this day, and if your mom is no longer here with you take a few moments to close your eyes and remember memories that bring a smile to your face. Memories are some of the most precious parts of life that are worth their weight in gold.