Happy Mother's Day

I must admit that I have mixed feelings about Mother's Day. Maybe it has something to do with my chosen occupation. Perhaps it's because I'm not a mother at an age when I thought I'd be deep into the institution. It could also have something to do with the fact that it feels like an awkward excuse to finally thank those people in our lives who have had the greatest influence. Shouldn't we be doing it everyday?

Despite my Mother's Day hesitancy, there is nothing mixed about my feelings for Lula. She is the most amazing mother on the planet. Remember in the movie Stepmom (a horrible movie that makes me cry EVERYTIME I watch it) when Julie Roberts tells Susan Sarandon that as a mother she holds her child's every memory, pain, joy, and dream? I'm tearing up just thinking of it. I think my mom is the same way. She knows all of our stories. She remembers that I love carrot cake for my birthday. She remembers every blasted science project, Valentine's box, musical performance, and primary talk. She knows our insecurities and what buttons to push. . .but never pushes them. She is our greatest cheerleader. Mom wears Red Door perfume. She snores. She used to make us tomato soup and buttered bread strips. She loves to read. She really cares. She is super talented and quite funny. People love to be around her. I like to clip her toe-nails. I love to climb into my parents bed and talk to her or just be near her. Sometimes, when I need her most, she'll call for no reason at all. It's an amazing thing to have someone in your life who thinks of you often, who prays for you, who lives for you. So, I guess this Mother's Day, I'm grateful to have a mother who is perfectly mine.