Happy Mother's Day

Yesterday I was standing in the greeting card section at Meijer picking out a Mother's Day card for my mom. I always struggle to find a card that sums up what I want to say to her on this special day - and don't even get me started on finding the right gift. It's just not possible to represent that much gratitude in such a simple gesture. Although I've always had a hard time finding the right way to thank my mom on Mother's Day, this year it is especially difficult.

This year I am a mother too, and I have spent the last 11 months (20 if you count pregnancy, which we all should) making the sacrifices for Reese that my mom made for me. Pregnancy, childbirth, and motherhood have had many side effects on me, one of which was a new appreciation for my own mother. That appreciation grows with each passing day as I travel the same road my mom traveled with me some 28 years ago. Even only 11 months into the journey, I'm so much more appreciative of the physical, mental, emotional, social, and financial sacrifices my mom made for me. I can only imagine how my gratitude will grow in the years to come, and how much harder it will get for me to fully express it.

I'm not sure I can ever fully thank her for enduring morning sickness, labor pains, and stitches (oh, the stitches!) to bring me into the world. And I'm not sure I can ever fully thank her for all the years of sleeping in my room when I was scared, comforting me when I was sad, and nurturing me when I was sick. As I tried to come up with a new way to share my feelings, I did the only thing I know how to do - I sat down and started writing. It began as a list but evolved into a poem...


A Thank You Note to My Mom:
There's nothing I can do for you and nothing I can say
To express how much I thank you that I turned out this way.
You've taught me so much through the course of my life,
How to make choices, what's wrong, and what's right.
Through bruises and scrapes and occasional bumps,
You were the one who bandaged me up.
Through boyfriends and dates and broken hearts,
You talked me through it when things fell apart.
You comforted me and you wiped off the tears.
You helped me through struggles and calmed all my fears.
And when I felt lost, you helped me stay strong.
You gave me the courage to keep going on.
Through achievements and illness and times good and bad,
You gave me the best of all that you had.
And nothing I do could ever repay
The debt that I owe you still to this day.
I just hope that you always know
When I say "thank you," how deep those words go.
Because there will never be any other
Quite like the hero I see in my mother.

Wishing every mom a very happy Mother's Day!