"Mother like Mine"

My Mom was (and still is) the rock of our family.

She held us together when we hated each other.....

.....When we could scream and cry and even live without seeing the rest of our family ever again: When our hearts were shredded by our 'best friend's or boys. She taught us what it means to fight through the crap. She taught me what it means to suffer through life and still keep a heart of service.

She has woven threads of love through our family when we hated each other. She never forced us to 'be nice' but she taught us what it means to give yourself for your family, even when you'd rather never see them again. Between her Italian spirit and her thriving love for her family, she has taught us what it means to truly love. When the skeletons are overflowing from the seams and cracks and foundation of the house, she still embodies love.

She and my Father instilled in me, a Faith that has seen me through some of the darkest parts of my life and helped to pull out of a sinking hole as a teenager. She has shown me what it means to keep fighting. She has set an exemplary example of God's love to his children, by the way she has loved her 5 daughters.

I will always remember just how much she loved us as little children, even when I did nothing but cry. (heelllooooo anxiety child) I will always remember how much she hurt but still tried, for us, every single day. From making me strawberry cream cheese bagels before I left for school - to making sure that my sister Andi, my Dad, and I all had something to eat every evening - she always made ends meet no matter how rough things got for our family. And when things were going well she always made sure to spoil us with Mom and Daughter dates by going garage-saling and eating a boatload of amazing Chinese food afterwards.....typically followed by a long nap at home.

~Mom, I will always cherish those days. And today, I cherish the time that we can talk together and enjoy each other's company. I treasure that you trust me enough to share your thoughts and feelings with me through this hard season that we've been enduring and for that I thank you.