Another Mother's Day

Today is our second Mother's Day without the pleasure of seeing my mom's face. As I drove to church this morning with my Auntie Jayne, she reminisced about how my mom would get in the car every week for church and ask if her outfit or necklace or some other accessory looked ok. And after my aunt would tell her of course it looked cute, she'd rave about what a great bargain she got on it. She was such a character like that. The salt of the earth, if I've ever known a person to fit that description.

Mother's Day without my mom is like a beach without sand... there's just that key ingredient, something really obvious that's missing. And on a windy, rainy Mother's Day like today, it would be pretty easy to let yourself wallow a bit. But as this morning progressed, I really thought about my mom, and how she would have enjoyed this day as she did any other, rain or shine. I could picture her singing along with every song at church, tapping her hands and feet to the music, and standing with beaming pride when the pastor asked all the mothers and grandmothers to stand. Those images of her make it hard not to smile. My mom would want nothing less than for us to enjoy this day as much as she would if she could. So rather than let Mother's Day be a day that makes me sad, I dedicate it entirely to just remembering her, and try to spend it exactly as she would, and as I know she would want me to. I remind myself today, and every day, just how lucky we were to have the years we did with the most loving, giving, sweet, funny, and amazing mom we could ever be blessed enough to have.

Happy Mother's Day in Heaven, Mom. I feel your love and your comfort shining down when I need it most, and I thank God for you. Our love for you is endless and only grows stronger.