My mom.

I love my mom. She is quirky, silly and fun. She has always been that way. I have so many memories of her making silly faces at me from the kitchen or chasing me down the hallways to tackle and tickle me. She used to follow me to school to hug or kiss my face properly if I didn't giver her a proper goodbye in the morning. I used to shrink inside my clothes, but now I look back at her dedication to motherhood with such fondness. She stayed up until all hours of the night to make me dresses. She'd tiptoe over my messy floor to tuck me in at night or give me cold medicine if I was coughing. And she would always listen to me for hours. Sometimes when I chase the girls I think of her. She made me into part of the mom that I am, and I feel so grateful that my kids get to reap the benefits of the her mothering.

Life has not been easy or always kind to my mom. She often bears so much weight on her shoulders. I have seen the sparkle that used to aways radiate from my mom fade from time to time. She loves hard, but sometimes that love is hard on her, if that makes sense. She works long hours and comes home to be a wife, a mother and a grandmother in the space. It has worn her down. I see it. She sees it. But she will not be defeated. She keeps waking up early in the morning and staying awake late to give her all to the people immediately around her, and she does her best to stay connected to me and my brother across the country. I think it's hard to grow up without your parents because in a sense they don't get to see so much of your life and how much you grow and change. My mom has tried to understand me or at least respect me and my changes, and I feel so grateful for that. She encourages me when needed; she hangs up on me when necessary; and she stretches her mama arms through the phone on more than one occasion to give me a hug that only she can. 

I love my mom. I love that my kids love my mom. I ache a little knowing they don't get to see them often, but I am filled with gratitude for every sacrifice my parents take to be with my kids as often as possible. 









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"Be kind and considerate with your criticism... It's just as hard to write a bad book as it is to write a good book." Malcolm Cowley