Somehow a card in the mail seems inadequate for my Mom on Mother’s Day, yet that is exactly what I sent her this past week.

If I could I would have bought her an in-ground swimming pool and had them deliver the trucks and the whole crew to her house today and begin the process. How awesome would that be? She loves swimming and occasionally goes to her neighbor’s house for a dip.

Thinking back over my lifetime and deciding what she means to me and how she has been the one person to have made the biggest impact in my life, I’m overwhelmed with emotion.

She believed in me when others didn’t. She has encouraged me to continue on when I felt like giving up. She has loved me when I was unlovable, and thought nothing of it – it was just who she was. She taught me of faith and love in a God who would never desert me and who loved me unconditionally. She imparted in me the love of writing and sharing my thoughts in a way I could have never imagined. She has been a major source of consistency in an ever inconsistent world, and I am grateful for so many things today in regard to her.

I asked my friends to share with me in one sentence the most important thing their Mom taught them so that I could share with you guys and here they are:

• To always listen to and not argue with the women in my life and I would go far (Jason O.)
• To cheer for Old Notre Dame (Dennis O.)
• To not be afraid to take risks or make mistakes and to be willing to stand for what I believe in against all odds if necessary (Stephanie B.)
• “If people don’t like you it’s their loss”. And she was right 🙂 (Sue S.)
• She taught me her love for God (Sakinah B.)
• She taught me to always be kind to others (Marla C.)
• She was my role model on how to overcome adversity! She moved on when life dealt her lemonade and raised her family without complaining and we never felt neglected (Claire L.)
• Think before you act or speak (Ted T.)
• Bloom where you are planted (Pat B.)
• It’s never the wrong time to say “I love you” (Mike G.)

What beautiful things our moms have shared with us to prepare us for life (be it good, bad and the ugly).

To sum it all up, my Mom has been my friend, my confidant, my greatest encourager, my cheerleader, my mentor, my spiritual guru and if you were to meet her you would say to me, “Wow, what a wonderful Mother you have – such a beautiful person.”

I know that one day I will experience the emptiness of not having her in this world and I will feel forever lost, as I am sure many of you have experienced – but until then I will live my life as if it were my last day with her.