Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day!

Just the words bring up so many feelings. Ones of love, appreciation, wonder and joy.  As I appreciate my mom today I find myself reflecting back on all of the great advice that she has given me over the years. Probably, the best was "Always be yourself". If there was nothing else she said about a situation or a question it was that. I did not always feel that it was enough but I did over time learn to trust those words and to discover what it meant to be myself. 

Today there will be many celebrations and tender moments of thinking about mom. There will be disappointment and hurt for mom's who are not with us. We will think of Mother Earth, Giving birth to a new idea and the mother figures who have influenced us.  How I think about and talk about my mom has changed over the years as I have grown and become a mother myself. I find myself knowing myself in a greater way because of her wise words. I find myself appreciating the power of her influence on my life. And, as special as I think my mom is I realize that there are many more who have a mom that has made a difference in their life. 

Mom's are one of the most written and talked about. Here is what a few have had to say about mothers:

Motherhood: All love begins and ends there.
Robert Browning 

God could not be everywhere, and therefore he made mothers.
Rudyard Kipling 

All that I am, or hope to be, I owe to my angel mother.
Abraham Lincoln 

A mother's happiness is like a beacon, lighting up the future but reflected also on the past in the guise of fond memories.
Honore de Balzac 

Sometimes the strength of motherhood is greater than natural laws.
Barbara Kingsolver 

My mother was the most beautiful woman I ever saw. All I am I owe to my mother. I attribute all my success in life to the moral, intellectual and physical education I received from her.
George Washington

What would I say about my mom? I would say: Thank you mom, for teaching me to "just be myself". I love you mom!

What will you say today to your mom or in memory of your mom?