For the Moms

I often find that Mother's Day is one of those days where you too often realize that maybe you've never said enough "thank you's" or hugged enough or called enough or smiled enough.  But, is there ever enough time given to us for all of these things for any loved one? I am not sure; however, it is important to me to say a few things, about a few Moms in my life today. 

To my Mother -- thank you for paying our booster fees for all our high school activities, even though we were poor and you cried because it was so expensive. Thank you for showing me that a woman can, in fact, replace an entire deck on the back of a house with almost no assistance and getting it done even when you had to drag three small children to Home Depot on all your days off one summer.  Thanks for showing me that vacations and trips are not something I am entitled to take and they are not always in the budget. I think that most children and young people probably don't grasp this concept. Thanks for the trips we did take together.  Thanks for living next door to your mother (Grandma) which could not have been easy for you, but was great for your children and your family. Thanks for showing me how lovely it is to just sit outside and have coffee and breakfast. Thanks for that stupid Abercrombie and Fitch sweater that you told me I couldn't have that you went back to buy after I cried all the way home about it.  It was a frivolous thing to get upset about when we had no money for overpriced sweaters.  I know you couldn't afford it, but you got it for me anyway. Thanks for not slapping me in the face that time when I was 16 and was outrageously rude and disrespectful to you -- I will never forget your decision to close your hand into a fist and put it by your side instead (even though I deserved it).  Thanks for not being one of those pushy, overbearing Moms. 

To my Step Mother -- thanks for welcoming all of us into your home and your heart even though we are not your own.  Thanks for all the laughs and laying out in the backyard on a quilt in the summer with us.  Thanks for taking us to the movies all the time when we visited on the weekend. Thanks for being another strong woman in my life.  I feel especially lucky to have "two" Moms.  Thanks for loaning me good books.  Thanks for all the gym trips together. Thanks for helping me pick out my prom dress Senior Year. Thanks for making Dad happy and keeping him in line.  Thanks for letting me live at home after college and for keeping a roof over my head while I looked for a job. Thanks for always telling me what you really think.  Thanks for giving me my only brothers, even if they are just "step" brothers. 

To The Housewife -- Thanks for being understanding about how difficult it was for me to share you with #1!!!!  I love her dearly, but you had always been mine before she came to us.  Thanks for showing me how to fearlessly jump into something as huge as committing to the task of having a husband, starting a family, and devoting all your time and energy to this in a loving and positive way (even on the not so good days). 

Love you. Mean it. 

~the single gal~