Reason for Being

Late summer, 1966. A young woman gives birth to a baby girl. Mother & daughter forever. I was that baby girl; my mother, the woman. She gave me life. And then she gave me so much more. Here we are in this photo, mommy & child, just a few weeks before my brother came into the world. When I was in kindergarten, my classmates and I were asked by our teacher to share something about our mother for a "book" that we'd present to our moms on Mother's Day. Close to four decades later, that little book still tells the reader that "my mother paints the house everyday." Cute words from a five-year-old. But, of course, my mom did so much more. She fed & clothed me, sheltered me, protected me, loved me. She often sacrificed her own wants & needs for mine. Did countless loads of laundry, made many meals, spent hours helping with homework. She offered advice, doled out discipline, & gave encouragement. Mended boo-boos and broken hearts. She gave me roots; offered me wings. Mom set the mold for motherhood. Yes, mom gave me life...a life filled with love & dreams for the future. Then the future did what it so often does and became the present. Now, my mom is a grandmother and I am a mother. Mom to a couple of sassy, silly, smart, beautiful drama queens. These two daughters of mine are my joy, my sunshine, my reason for being. Brynn Hayley & Reilly Rose...my two girls who brought purpose to my life. A life in which I am the mother who nutures, loves & and worries about her babies. A mother who finds it easy to give her children roots...the wings, not so much. Perhaps my daughters' grandma can show me how it's done when the time comes. Happy Mother's Day.