To My Mom, On Mother’s Day

May 3, 2016

Dear Mom,

I never fully appreciated everything you did for me…until I became a mother. I remember in full detail, ~~a hundred~~ a thousand times I failed you, lied to you, stole from you, deceived you, and still you loved me. I know I was a hard teenager to love, but still you did. Thinking back on the way I was makes me scared to raise teenage girls. But I know you were able to do it with such grace- and I know I’ll be able to do it, too. (Hopefully with your guidance.)
The strength you display on your hardest days makes me stronger. Without going into too much detail, I want you to know how much I admire you. You put your dreams on hold and stayed at home to raise four children. Then, when the time came, you dove full force and turned your dreams into plans. And I watched as you worked a full time job as a sixth grade teacher AND went to school at night to get your bachelors and masters. And I watched as you graduated with a 4.0. And now I watch as you take on the job of principal and continue your education (I mean, getting your doctorate? How could I not be proud?!?) But through it all, you’ve faced personal issues, life crises, deaths, hospital stays, surgeries, car accidents, and you remain STRONG. That is the kind of strength I hope to teach my daughters. I hope I can teach them to smile, even on the hard days, because that’s what you’ve taught me.
Among all the things I’ve learned from you, I’ve learned to love myself. You’ve taught me how important it is to focus on the positive, to treat my body and soul with respect, to remain strong in my relationship with God, to love my husband- and doing all these things, you can’t help but be happy and love yourself. And on my worst days, when I hate myself, you love me through it.

I love you so much! Thank you for being the best mom! Happy Mother’s Day.

For Mother’s Day, I got my mom a beautiful white sapphire MOM pendant from REEDS Jewelers! And treated myself to a gorgeous larimar diamond ring! You can enter to win a $250 to REEDS Jewelers on their Instagram!