A late Mother’s Day

To my momma. You are my best friend. My confident. You tell me like it is, and aren’t afraid to hurt my feelings. Thanks. You let me make my own mistakes. Thanks. You have been there for me for 21 years. Thanks. You have given me every opportunity to grow. Thanks. You kept me when life said it would be hard. Thanks. (wouldn’t life be boring without me 😉 ) You pulled all nighters when I was sick. Thanks. You dried my tears every time I felt like my world was crashing down. Thanks. You are the calm voice to my hysterics. Thanks. You taught me how to love. Thanks. You encouraged independence. Thanks. You taught me to fight for what I believe. Thanks. You inspire me to be the best I can be. Thanks. Thanks for everything you have done, and continue to do. Even though, I am 21, married and a momma myself you still come check on me when I am sick. Thanks. I love our talks and our time spent together. I know you think that one day we are gonna end up on one of those crazy “my mother ruined my life” shows. We won’t. You gave me life when you didn’t have to. You showed me love when I least deserved it. You taught me when it seemed I was unteachable. You never gave up on me, when I gave up on myself.    You have been an example of strength, perseverance, grace, (Maybe not mercy. Seriously, who makes their daughter play softball on a broken leg). You did, because you saw the bigger picture. No, I couldn’t do much but catch a ground ball (minus that one, did you expect me to break my other leg to catch it), but by me just being on the field, the team was allowed to play and not forfeit. So I learned that lesson a little late, maybe it wasn’t even a lesson you planned on teaching me. I learned that sometimes, you have to sacrifice for others that are counting on you. We have been through a lot as a family. Cancer, deployments, eating disorders, death, tragedy, new found family, sick children, abuse. You have stood by me through it all, the stuff that affected me personally and the stuff that affected the family as a whole. You held my hand. Thanks. You showed me the light at the end of long tunnels. You showed me how to be strong when all you really wanna do is lay in bed and cry. You let me be me. You are the best momma I could ask for. I thank God everyday that I was blessed to be your daughter. 

To my daughter. You made me a momma. Thanks. You taught me unconditional love. Thanks. You teach me things everyday. Thanks. You are constantly teaching me patience.  I’m pretty sure I never prayed for it. You show me the importance of grace. I see myself failing you everyday. The teachable moments I let slip between my fingers. The times I forget you are still learning and I yell. The times I let you go to school with unbrushed hair. It was just one more fight for that morning, so I let you win that one. The times I give in to your undeniable charm (charm a.k.a persistent whining). I see myself failing you all the time. Yet you still love me, you still come to me to kiss your boo-boos. You still cuddle up in my lap for a bedtime story -on the nights I read one-one more way I fail you-. You have taught me bravery. You have also taught me how small a person can feel. (Watching a doctor wheel your 1 year old away for a possible life changing surgery, I have never felt so small or so scared). –More on that later- You taught me to find my voice, to fight for the answers. Even if they aren’t the answers I want to hear. You are a stop and smell the roses type of kid. I am so thankful for that. It may try my patience to have to wait for you to go pick one more flower (quite literally, you love to pick flowers). So here is my wish for you. That you never lose that. That you always take time to smell the roses. That you never lose your smile or your laugh. Always find the good in the bad. Take time to remember the small things, later they become the big things. Always love life. Love others. Love Jesus. Follow your heart, but remember to take your head with you. (If you listen to both, you can never go wrong). Remember that I will always love you, no matter what, or how old you get. Live with no regrets. Take chances. Remember where you came from. Enjoy life. These are the things that I wish for you.