tribute to my mom

I'm sitting here at 11:21pm, the day before Mother's Day, thinking about my Mom. It's just starting to sink in to me that this will be (to the best that I can remember) the first Mother's Day I haven't spent with my Mom. She's just not in town this weekend. It's a strange thought - even though I know I saw her just a couple of days ago and I will again in a couple days, it seems a little strange not to be seeing her tomorrow.

To put it quite bluntly, I'm pretty sure that I couldn't ask for a better Mom. I'm serious! She is one of the hugest blessings in my life. I know that she is always there for me when something goes well and I'm excited, or when everything seems to be going wrong in my life. I know I often take that for granted.

But, I'm also incredibly grateful to know that she's always there. I've been a little more conscious of this fact that she is there in the last few months. My Mom was in a car accident, and although she walked away from it, it was the first time I thought seriously about the possibility of losing my Mom. And, it has made me all the more thankful for and appreciative of the fact that she is still here - that she is still only that quick phone call away.

I know that my parents' desire was for my sisters and I to grow up with a love for the Lord and a desire to follow and serve Him. And they modelled that with how they lived as we were growing up. My Mom was always encouraging me to get involved in serving - not just through words, but also through action. When I think of people who have served God and loved Him that I want to be like, my Mom is definitely one of those people. I admire her for that, especially beacuse I know that doing so hasn't always been easy for her in life. But she has persevered, and I want to be someone who perseveres through the tough times too.

My Mom has always seemed to be the "un-shock-able" kind of person. That makes her someone you can talk to easily about things. I know that, even if she thinks I'm out to lunch in what I say, I can't shock her and cause her to totally freak out. She's not afraid to say if I'm out to lunch ;) but she won't freak out on me. It makes her easy to talk to about so much of life. And it means that in many situations she is the first, or one of the first, people that I want to talk to and get advice from.

I appreciate that I can phone my Mom up and go for dinner, or dessert, or just go over to her house and "hang out." One of the favourite things for me is that every Sunday night that it works for both of us we meet at the grocery store and go shopping for the week together. Growing up, I always went grocery shopping with my Mom and I appreciate that we can still do that together, even though I no longer live at home. And while we shop, we always share about life - the stories of our weeks, what's coming up in the next week, what we're thinking about. It's a highlight of my week!

I also appreciate that whenever I'm over at my parents' house and I say that I need to go home, she responds with the words: "but this is your home!" I bug her about it all the time, but it reassures me to know that I always have a place of belonging there and am welcome there. It makes me feel loved beyond all I could imagine in life.

I have disagreements with my Mom and times she drives me up the wall, but even with those times I wouldn't trade her for anything in the world. She is my hero. Honestly, when people ask me about my heroes in life my Mom is one of them. I love her a lot! And I couldn't ask for a better person to call Mom.

[OK, since she reads this blog, she may be embarrassed that I would post this on here, but I'm OK with that. I want the world to know how great my Mom is and how much I love her! So, I will post this Tribute to my Mom, because I'm not sure I always let her know how much I mean it when I say I love her, because I mean it with every fibre of my being and to the depths of my heart.]