Happy Mother's Day!

Thank you, Mom, for teaching me patience. For showing me patience even when I threw tantrums as a toddler, talked back as a pre-teen and disregarded you as a teenager. When I flew from our beautiful peace-filled nest to head to college and never came back, you were still patient. When I started the journey of parenthood and came to truly understand what an incredible mother you were to me, you waited patientiently for that acknowledgement. You modeled the kind of patience that only moms have access to. Endless patience.

Thank you, Mom, for teaching me grace and not just grace for others. A good portion of a mother's sanity comes from having grace for herself and you reminded me of that, especially when I first became a mother. When I couldn't do it all, you reassured me that no one could. When my unreasonable expectations smothered me, you gently insisted that I just do the best I could at the most important stuff: showing up and loving them. You showed me that it was a choice that every mom should make. Practiced grace.

Thank you, Mom, for teaching me about love. Not romantic love, that sometimes fleeting and often intense kind of love, but the kind of love that a mother feels for her child. It's a lasting, unconditional and overwhelming love. It's a feel-in-your-gut, sacrifice-a-limb, keep-you-up-all-night love. It's the kind of love that has the power to bring you to tears and to your knees, often in the same breath. Thank you for showing me an eternal, unwavering and all-encompassing love. Boundless love.

I love you forever! Happy Mother's Day Mom!

{J}

Holly and Jenn