Just Passing Through: Happy Mother's Day

My Dearest Mother,

No mere words could ever convey how much I love you or even come close to letting you know how thankful I am every single day that God saw fit to allow me in your life. No amount of money could I ever have access to that would enable me to pay you back for all the time, resources, energy and money you spent raising me. No award or prize in existence worthy enough to carry your name. I am woefully ill suited to pay proper reverence to you and yet here I try. You have always been there for me, loving me, advising me and when left to make my mistakes you have always helped me pick up the pieces. You make up my earliest memories, you taught me to walk, talk and show compassion for a world that wasn't always nice to me. You raised me on your own while going to school part time and still working a full time job...if when I die, I am half the woman you are...there will have been meaning in my life. There were so many times we could have become a disaster but by showing respect for me and my feelings and teaching me the same for you we were able to compromise and avoid the many pitfalls of my teenage angst. At the beginning of every quarter I would call you crying that I wasn't going to be able to pass one or more classes, and that I just wasn't smart enough. And every quarter you would tell me the same thing..."don't look at the end of the book, look at the front. You eat an elephant one spoonful at a time. You will do fine, you always do." By the time my college years finished I guess I ate a lot of elephants, passed a lot of classes and the one constant in my life has always been you. I can count on one hand the amount of times you have yelled at me or been cross with me...you have shown great patience with a daughter that well, let's be honest...gave you every grey hair you have. When I have been in doubt, you have taught me that a mother's love is forever. And every time I went out to a party you always reminded me "remember who you are." I always did remember...a child of God, a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints but more important than any of those...I was your daughter. No greater title or fellowship could I be part of then to be called your daughter. And I thank God every day that he blessed me with you not only as my mother, but my best friend too.