Today's moment of thanksgiving... 88 years ago, the world was made a better place because my mother was born. She is an amazing person in more than one way, but her greatest quality, to me, is her unwavering calm support during life's difficult moments.
She is always, and has always been, just quietly there for me, even when she has her own problems to handle. She is never judgmental. She has never once said "I told you so," even though I am certain she had grounds plenty of times. She is the best role model in the world for calmly carrying on when things are rough.
Through life's most difficult moments, especially losing my dad when she was only 46, which also turned me into a very angry bereaved teenager, she has been a model of courage, determination, and dedication to moving forward. Her example inspired me more than once at very difficult moments in my own life, and my own daughter surely benefited from her example to me when I became a single mom at the same age. Selflessness is not natural - it is a learned behavior, and I learned from the most giving, selfless person I know.
It is easy to be a "good" mom when things are going well and life is easy. It is a lot harder when you are a single mom at a time when that wasn't "normal" and you aren't sure how to pay the bills or provide what is needed. But I never wanted for anything I truly needed, and she was the best dad a mom could be, as well as the best mom I could ever ask for.
Her life has never been easy, but she has demonstrated through her 88 years of life how to live well and faithfully. I will never live up to her example, and I mean that in the best way possible. She is just simply the best, and I am so grateful I get to call her my mom. I really DO have the best mom in the whole world!
Happy birthday, Mom! You are loved beyond measure, and I am so thankful that we get to celebrate you today.
