“Sometimes we are here to learn lessons and sometimes we are here to teach them.”
This is one of the bits of advice my mother gave me recently. The bits are NOT few and far between…they come daily leaving me wondering how she came to have so much soul and hoping I acquired some of it. She really is an amazing woman…far more amazing than she would ever give herself credit for. She is one of those selfless people who does nice, out of the blue things for people “just because” and makes no big deal about it. Growing up, I can’t recall one time she ever raised her voice at me…not once. Even in the 2nd grade when I was jumping back and forth on the countertops and knocked the coffee pot on the floor splattering it into a million pieces. I looked at her in sheer panic and she simply said, “It’s just a coffee pot. We can get another one.” She rubbed my back every single night until I fell asleep. She made sure my brother and I had the nicest clothes stocked in our closet even if it meant leaving hers empty. She has received maannyy phone calls in the middle of the night while I was at college worried about something so remedial. Still, she listened and was the only one who could calm me down within minutes. She still takes care of me when I’m sick, making sure I have “enough liquids” and that I “get enough sleep.” She welcomes everyone she meets with open arms like she has known them for years and makes them feel like the most important person in the room. She has the kindest and gentlest spirit of anyone I’ve ever met and I am so happy that I am the one who gets to call her Mom.
Mama – I love you more than you could ever know. Happy Mother’s Day!