Thank you, Mom

Thank you, Mom, for carrying me for nine months and dealing with the uncomfortableness of an enormous belly, back aches, and leg cramps.  

Thank you, Mom, for letting me wander in the yard and smell the tulips and daffodils when I was just learning to walk.  

Thank you, Mom, for giving me a darling sister even when I demanded a brother.

Thank you, Mom, for reading me stories and teaching me how to write in cursive.  

Thank you, Mom, for fixing me breakfast, lunch, and dinner, doing my endless laundry, and rolling my hair in sponge curlers.

Thank you, Mom, for singing We Sing Silly Songs over and over in the car with me and for belting out hymns with me every Sunday morning as we were getting ready for church.

Thank you, Mom, for teaching me the importance of being honest and always making my bed and wearing deodorant.

Thank you, Mom, for showing me how to appreciate the beauty in a birds nest, the work of an earthworm, or the fresh taste of homegrown lettuce.

Thank you, Mom, for chopping my door down when I needed to be reminded of the respect owed to my parents.

Thank you, Mom, for the endless hours of work you put in answering phone calls and renting condominiums from home so you could be with us and give us a good life.

Thank you, Mom, for putting up with all those calls from college when all I needed to ask was how to fix cornbread or how long I needed to bake a pork chop.

Thank you, Mom, for listening and just letting me cry and cry and cry when I thought I'd never see the inside of a Target again after Julianna was born.

Thank you, Mom, for not saying, "I told you so" all those times that you really did tell me so.

Thank you, Mom, for caring for my little girl like she's your own daughter and for loving on her even when she pushes you away.

Thank you, Mom, for being my mother and loving me unconditionally.

Happy Mother's Day.