Happy Mother's Day!

It wasn't until I became a mom, that I truly understood the work being a mom really was. My mom always made it look so easy. What I didn't know and didn't see were the endless hours she put in after my brother and I were sound asleep in our beds. I never gave much thought to how there were always clean towels or how the toilet paper never ran out. Beds were made and laundry cleaned and put neatly in drawers. Lunches were ready and the refrigerator and cabinets were always stocked with food. She made sure that Santa never let us down. The tooth fairy came and the Easter Bunny always hid our baskets.

She worried about our safety, our health, our happiness. She worried if she was doing a good enough job. She worried if we did well in school, if we had the right friends. She worried when it was 10 minutes past curfew and we weren't home.

She supported us, picked us up when we fell and loved us unconditionally. Even when I used dish soap in the dishwasher. Oops. But through all the work, worry and support, she was silently teaching me how to be the best possible mother I could be.

When I got married, I was blessed with a wonderful mother-in-law. Over the years she has been there as a mother and as a friend. She raised a wonderful man that I am proud to call my husband.

To my boys, you are my greatest accomplishments. I wouldn't be a Mommy without you. You came in to this world so tiny and fragile, but you are growing into amazing boys. There is no greater joy than watching you grow and learn. I promise to always love and protect you. Even when you are all grown, you will always be my babies. I love you with every ounce of my soul.

Throwback Thursday - May 8, 2014

Mom and I on my wedding day

I chose this picture of my mom and I for this week's Throwback Thursday because Mother's Day is this Sunday. This is also one of the very few pictures that I have of just me and my mom. I know she is probably going to hate this picture, she has changed so much since then, but in my eyes, that day she looked beautiful. She was so happy and proud that her little girl was getting married.

It was also the day that my relationship with my mom began to change and evolve into what it is today. I wouldn't say that we ever had a bad relationship, my relationship with both my parents was always pretty good. But growing up, I did give them some hard times, as I am sure most kids to during their teenage years. Heck, I know adults that still give their parents heart failure. 

Our relationship changed in that I understood her more. I understood the things that she did to make her marriage work. I understood what it was to maintain a home, worry about finances. I understood her as a wife. It was on this day, that we became friends. 

I don't know what I would ever do without my mom, although the sad reality is one day, I will. I call her to vent, to laugh, to cry, to know that their is someone on the other end that understands, not just because she is a woman too, but because she is my mom and I am part of her. 

I know I can call her a million times and ask her how to make a hard boiled egg, something I just can't commit to memory and I know she will be there to tell me how. I could be looking all over the place for something very specific and if I tell her, sure as the sky is blue, she will be the one to find it. She comes up with solutions to problems that only a seasoned wife and mother could possibly think of and most times, they are positively genius. 

Not only is she a fantastic mother, but she has morphed into the most amazing grandmother to all her grandkids. They are her life. They keep her going when sometimes she feels that the cards are stacked up against her and things aren't going right. They are just as lucky to have her as I am.

I just hope that my mother knows just how much she means to me and that I wish her the most wonderful of Mother's Days, this year and always.