Dear Mom

Dear Mom,

Thank you for every time you got up with me in the night,

all the messes you cleaned, the laundry you washed, the meals you lovingly cooked,

the birthday cakes and parties,

for buying my favorite cereal,

a million trips to the doctor,

and a billion doses of medicine.

Thank you for getting me ready for church,

and taking me every time the doors were open,

for correcting me when I was wrong,

and praising me when I was right.

Thank you for teaching me about the big, big love of Jesus,

for reading the Bible to me,

for showing me how to be a Godly woman.

Thank you for teaching Sunday School,

and not wearing a new dress on Easter

so the little girl who couldn't afford one

wouldn't feel left out.

Thank you for putting up with my preteen swings,

for bearing my yelling and arguing,

for not killing me when I assumed I knew everything,

for listening to all the adolescent girl drama,

and buying me clothes that cost too much so I would feel less self conscious.

Thank you for being at every band performance, every concert, every competition,

for buying me two flutes and working tirelessly at dozens of fundraisers.

Thank you for bringing me dinner at school when I worked late on yearbook deadlines,

for being my number one fan and biggest cheerleader.

Thank you for all the money you spent to give me an education,

for leaving me at college, and then at seminary, so I could find my own way,

for letting go and trusting God would guide me.

Thank you for a zillion tears cried and prayers prayed on my behalf.

Thank you for a gazillion hours spent on the phone 

listening to whatever I wanted to babble about,

for not telling me I was crazy for dating all those weirdos,

for stocking up on wedding supplies for 8 straight years,

and for working your fingers to the bone when I finally met the one

to give me the wedding of my dreams.

Thank you for buying me maternity clothes,

for spending 4 hours in Babies R Us 

investigating "only the best" baby equipment,

for driving across the country 2 weeks early so you wouldn't miss Titus' delivery,

for spending 5 weeks away from home when Anna was born,

and for loving my children as much as I do.

Thank you for buying 3 dozen plane tickets,

for giving up having us with you during the holidays,

for never making us feel guilty for living so far away,

while making sure we knew you would prefer us right under your nose.

Thank you for embracing this new one who is not of my womb,

and every one who might come after him,

for defending us to those who think we're nuts,

for being a mama bear even though this cub is 34.

Thank you for not forcing me into a mold,

for being behind me no matter what the Lord asks me to do,

for trusting my discernment and letting me blaze my own trail.

Thank you for taking this mothering thing seriously.

You are really good at loving me.