If I am being truly honest here, there are times when I am not quite sure that I have been the best daughter or the best mom that I could be. Like many of us, there are instances that we wish we could “do-over” to try to get it right. But God only gives us this one chance to do it right and sometimes His plan for us doesn’t make it so convenient. To be a daughter and to be a mother the very best way we can.
We are scattered about, most of us kids. I know exactly what my mother would say she wanted for Mother’s Day, and that is to have us all together. Travel for her is difficult due to her health and this summer she turns 80. Although we are not able to be together on this day of celebration of Mothers and Daughters, it is a connection that will never be broken, a deep love within our souls. For our moms have known us the longest, breathed life into us, held us close to their hearts, worried when we were sick, cried when we cried, laughed when we laughed and raised us to be all that we are today. Although there are things that I wish I could “do-over”, my love for her never changes and never will. See that’s one thing that God is good at, he pours love into our hearts and it binds us together forever. It is an unconditional love, one that cannot be changed by distance or words unsaid.
I often remind my girls to love family first, be kind and respectful to your parents and siblings, because when shit hits the fan and everything around you falls apart, and friends come and go, you can always count on us to be there to help lift you back up. I pray that they keep this in their hearts when they walk out our door to embark on their own journey in life. I pray that they are happy and blessed and find true joy and love in life.
I know that to be true for my mom that her wish for me as a child was to thrive and grow, to love and be loved, to be all that I can be, to use my talents to help others, to have faith and to know and trust God. And now I know that I have found all of these things. And I know that if this crazy world we live in today, falls apart around me, I can still step right back into the hearts that gave me wings to fly.
On this Mothers Day, I don’t really want the cards or the flowers, or things wrapped up in fancy bags or paper. This mother’s day, all I really want is for my kids to feel safe, safe to trust people, to dream big, to believe they can do great things in this world, to be kind to others, to try hard even if it means they fail, with the confidence to get right back up and try again, to love large and to know that they are loved back, to open their wings and fly but not forget to circle back around to the hearts that gave them the wings to fly.
For it is she who has already given me all of those things. My wish for my mother, as well as my daughters is to remember the good, the love, the laughs, the happy tears, the stories, and the tender “I Love You’s”, and smile every time they do. To know that they are loved.
A black and white tribute to my Mother.
When we reach the end years of our lives, what’s most important is not how much money we made, how far we climbed up the ladder, how many countries we visited, how many books we read or wrote… what’s important is how we loved, how we helped others, that we were kind, that we forgave, and that we inspired others simply by being the person God meant for us to be.
Your daughter & mother of your grandchildren,
-Sharon xo
