Sunshine and coffee....

It's Mother's Day weekend, so naturally I have been thinking about my mother. Also, a dear friend of mine just lost her mother to cancer not more than a day ago, and it just makes a person sit down and really think about things.

When I woke up this morning and went through the motions like I always do: set the coffee maker to brew my fresh cup o' morning coffee, hugged my Peppers and opened the shutters in the living area to let the morning sunshine in... I immediately thought of my mother. I thought of how much she would have loved to be here this morning and revel in this gorgeous morning, the sun shining down, the smell of fresh coffee. I could almost imagine her sitting in a chair in a shaft of sunlight, giggling like a schoolgirl over some silly comment should would have made.

These are what my memories of my mom are comprised of: of her zest for life, her love for the simple things, her desire to share those with us and for us to somehow adopt them into our lives. I have so many of them: her showing us the flowers as they started to bloom and how amazing they were to her, the simple act of turning her face to the sun closing her eyes and just smiling from the warmth of it, her love of nature, her joy at being out in the middle of it. Spring and Summer were and still are her favorite seasons.

She was, and still is, a kid at heart. She has the most infectious giggle. You could hear it all the way upstairs and it made you smile. For those who know me well enough, you know that I have a twisted sense of humor and I am quick with the comebacks. Well, I have to admit that I learned at the feet of the master - my mom. She is funnier than you could imagine and she has these zingers that sting! But she kept us on our toes and she was always one step ahead.

I always grew up knowing she loved me. She was a strong force in my life. She was the backbone of our family and the glue that held us together for as long as we did. She was a whirlwind of energy and motivation and she always drove my sister and I to do better and more than we thought we were capable of. She made sure to spend quality time with each of us every single day to see how our lives were going. She sacrificed a lot for us, as all mothers do. She worked a menial job so that she would have extra money to be able to buy the "cool" clothes that I wanted for high school. Not many moms would have done that... but mine did. She always wanted me to look good and feel good about myself when I went out. It was important to me, so in turn it was important to her.

When I went through something really traumatic in my early teens, she did all she could to help me through it. She never doubted me and she found out what was the best thing to do and she did that for me. She was always quietly there for me, and she still is. Funny how just talking to her eases my worries or my anxieties.

So on this gorgeous Saturday morning, the day before Mother's Day, I give thanks for mine and all she has done for me. But I think she deserves thanks every day of the year, not just on one. She and all mothers give every day of their lives to their children. We should thank them every day also.

♥