Happy Mothers Day

This year my mom is celebrating her 30th Mother's Day, and she's not even 50 years old. Every once in a while, when I get to thinking about it, it hits me just how young my mom was when she gave birth to me. Before the age of 21 she had already committed to putting me and my needs before hers, and that's pretty amazing. I couldn't have imagined being responsible for a child at the age of 20. I was so consumed with myself that I rarely thought about anything other than what I wanted, what I thought I needed. She did, however, and here I am, at 30, more thankful than ever that I have a mother like her.

Everyone say's their mom's the best mom in the world, and I'm no different. My mom has given me everything and never has she asked for anything in return. A mother in the truest sense of the word. She's always around when I need her; the one person I've been able to lean on when my life didn't make sense at all. She's one of the great ones.

Mother's have an almost super hero mental strength to them, don't they? There's no other way to explain it. Even when I've been completely crushed by events in life that shouldn't have happened, she's able to exude strength. I've seen it first hand many times in my short life, but while dealing with the deaths of my Great Grandmother and my cousin (two of my favorite people on earth) is when she proved just how much stronger she is then me. While I have no doubt that she was an emotional wreck on the inside, she was nothing if not the stabilizing force for me on the outside. It's times like the aforementioned when you really appreciate how much a mother can endure and still be standing strong. For better or worse, she's always the one that has to be the face of strength during times of crises. I can only imagine how exhausting it has to be, and yet, she does it with as much of smile as one could muster during family tragedies.

Mother's have an endless amount of time to give. Whether it was waking up at 5am to make sure I made it to a wrestling tournament in Kansas 5 hours away, or spending every other night at my baseball games even if she was sick. She always put me first. Why, I have no idea. It's not like I was the most respectful kid, and I surely didn't show any appreciation for anything she did for me, when I was young. But that didn't matter to her, she just kept on being my biggest fan, camcorder in hand, celebrating every win and taking losses as hard, if not harder, than I did. She was unequivocally dedicated to making sure my childhood was the best, most eventful that it could be.

It's no secret that I think the world of my mother. Of course, I have regrets that I didn't tell her that when I was younger. For whatever reason, when I was young, I took my mother for granted. Luckily, the older I've gotten the more I've come to appreciate her and all she's done for me, my sister, my dad, and the rest of my family. She's always given me hope, and deserves so much more than I'll ever be able to give her back. I can only hope that she knows, now, just what she means to me and our family. She's been a mother for 30 plus years, now, and has unconditionally given everything she has in her heart to making my life great.

So Happy Mothers Day to my mom; a beautiful, kind, loving mother who deserves all the best things in life.