Sharing Thanks for Mother's Day

My Mom with my Dad and brother in Costa Rica

Happy Mother's Day Everyone. Today I am dedicating sharing thanks to thanking moms! I love this picture of mom that was recently taken when my parents visited my brother in Costa Rica. My good friend Liz, sent me this beautiful quote this morning, "God could not be everywhere, so therefore, He made mothers." Becoming a mother is a life changing experience which teaches us the true meaning of unconditional love. I remember the day that each of my daughter's were born. Nothing prepared me for the love I feel for them.
Our mothers love us no matter what so I'm going to start off my sharing thanks by honoring my Mom!

1. I am so thankful for my artistic creative mom! My mom had me when she was 20! She was a young energetic mom. I wish I could bottle her energy. Even now, she does more in a day then most people get done in a week. My mom encouraged my love of music by finding a way to pay for violin and piano lessons. She taught me to value art, and adventure. She taught me to appreciate nature, how to make long lasting friends, how to cook and sew, the importance of hard work, and to value the people we love in our life. She taught me to love the summer. I remember spending everyday at Jones beach during the summer. Swimming in the salt water pool, building sand castles and doing crafts in the old Indian Tepees. I love you Mom! Happy Mother's Day!
2. I am sharing tributes that were made to mom's from blog readers.S Kautz said." I am thankful for my mom. She is kind, quite and non judgemental. Her quite strength amazes me. She had the energy to raise 6 children and also take care of my Grandmother who had dementia. She never complained and never lost her cool. She never raised her hand to any of us. My mother is a loving grandmother and the spouses all love her."
3. S Kautz also shared thanks for her mother-in-law, "I am also thankful for my mother -in-law. She is the best mother in law anyone could hope for. She does not interfere and is always supportive. Her energy amazes me and she always looks beautiful. Her strenghth and faith has taught me so much. She is generous beyond belief and truly loves me like her daughter. I hope I can be such a wonderful mother in law if my son gets married"
4. Blog reader Janine said, "Why I'm thankful for my mom falls as much into the category of why I'm thankful for all my life's experiences. It's because they've helped me in innumerable ways. But I can encapsulate it. I can say that my mom helped me, by example, about hanging in there when the going gets tough. I learned humor from her. I learned hard work. Cleanliness. Good cooking. And yes, love. And yes, I'm sure about it.
   
   When I think about my mom as my mother, I appreciate that she did the best she knew how. She struggled through a new culture for my sister and me. She did her best to bring us up the only way she knew, which seems to me to be with dignity, laughter, respect and caring.
   
   We always had good, homemade food in our bellies. She kept us clean and warm. I knew that she would always be there, a sort of anchor, a pillar of strength, when the current was sometimes tumultuous. I relied on my mom for this strength, and counted on her being there in that capacity. She's always known what needed to be done.
   
   At the same time, there was the girlish side to her. She had married so young, and I was born when she was 20. So she was a young mom. We would often joke about so many things, especially as I got to be a little older, and she even came to confide in me.
   
   In my mom I see a beautiful, vibrant and intelligent young German girl, who after marrying a sweet, handsome young American soldier back in the late 50's, did her best to raise her two girls. Yes, with love, not always the kind that was kissy-kissy, or even very affectionate, but with the kind of love that says, I'm here for you, always, your loving mother, who is dedicated to you, loyal to you, and guiding you to be a confident young woman, sort of to carry on the tradition of strong women of the family.
   
   Now, as I see my mother aging, I still see a beautiful youthful woman, full of love of life, and confidence and pride in her self-sufficiency. At the same time, I see her softening in her inner core, it seems to me, becoming more vulnerable, more expressive in her love, and blooming into a truly radiant person.
   
   Life is a journey, and my relationship with my mom has been a journey too. Despite differences we've had over the many years, my mom and I have become closer than we've been for many years. I think we've come to see each other as so valuable in each other's lives, that we do love each other so deeply, and that the different outlooks we have cultivated on life are secondary to our love - the love we feel for each other.
   
   I am her daughter, she is my mother. That will always be. And we've rediscovered this treasure - this constancy - this special connection. When I look into my mother's eyes, I see love. "

Here is a toast to Mom's everywhere! I had a beautiful mother's day today. It started out by getting some Mother's Day wishes from some of best friends who are also Moms. My husband made me a great scramble and egg breakfast. My daughters went shopping for mother's day presents together. My daughter Liz bought me a huge card which she filled with pictures and important memories of this year. My daughter Becky gave me a thoughtful card and treated me to Dunkin Donuts Gift Card. She knows how much I love an iced coffee in the morning. I invite you to share a thankful mother's day story!