Day 85

"No language can express the power, and beauty, and heroism, 

and majesty of a mother's love."

 Edwin Hubbell Chapin

Even as I sit down to write this, I am already tearing up. How do you even begin to express your gratitude to a Mother? Especially one as breathtakingly wonderful as mine. I don’t even know where to begin…..

If you know Betsy Thompson, then you can count yourself blessed. If you know Betsy Thompson, then you’ve felt the love of a truly exceptional care-giver, exactly what a mother should be.

My brother described it best. He was once giving a sermon at our church and he started talking about my mom at our dinner table. He told how she would always refill my Dad’s tea glass without him asking her to. And how he knew that she didn’t do it because she had to, she didn’t do it so that my Dad would say “yeah…I think I’ll keep her!”, she didn’t even do it for a “thank you.” She did it because she didn’t want him to be thirsty. She did it because that’s what you do when you love someone. You take care of them.

My brother was right. And it wasn’t just for my Dad, she did it for all of us. And it was so much more than just tea. My mother has always gone out of her way for her family. She has a way of making me feel loved and making me feel special like no one else can. And she always has. 

It goes all the way back to the beginning. She was there for everything. Every softball game, every recital, every play, every trip, everything. She was always there. Never missed a beat. The memories I have of times where I’ve felt enveloped and overwhelmed by her love abound. Here are just few that stick out…

• My first day of T-ball when I got hit in the knee twice in a row and wanted to quit. She swooped me up in her arms, kissed it all better and told me I could do it and to get back out there. And I did. And I played for 10 more years.
• Every morning she would holler at me to get up for school, but every once in a while she would come in my room, pounce on the bed, and sing nursery rhymes until I laughed so much I couldn't help but get up. Those were always my favorite mornings.
• Crackers and sprite when I was sick. Best medicine.
• The first time my heart was breaking and, even though it was puppy love and to an adult the situation probably seemed silly, she sat with me on the couch, held me tight, and just let me cry. She told me that she knew it hurt and she'd take it away if she could. 
• I have so many memories of sitting at the kitchen table with my Mama drinking coffee and doing Cryptoquotes. Now that I live far away, she makes a copy of the Cryptoquote from the newspaper every day and send me packets in the mail. I have a ton of these envelopes stock piled away. Whenever I take them out, its like she's there with me from across the miles. I jump for joy every time I check the mail and there is a new envelope with her beautiful handwriting on the front. I love my mother's handwriting.
• There's this bean bag game we played in college known as Cornhole. Well my mother heard about it (not knowing that we played it in college or that it was one of my favorite games in the world). She thought I might like it. So what did she do? She commissioned a friend to hand make Cornhole tables for me. Then decorated them so one side was Georgia Bulldogs and one was Green Bay Packers, my two favorite teams. Then she hand made two sets of bean bags in the teams' colors and mailed this gigantic 75 lb package across the country to me!! I was completely bowled over. The time, the care, the money, the love that went into that project was astounding. But you see, that's just how my mother is. She gives. She gives of her time, her money, and of herself.

I could go on and on because the truth is, I have been overwhelmed by my mother's love every day of my life. She taught me how to cook and how to "kill potatoes." She taught me how to crochet, how to drive. She taught me right from wrong, but she always let me make my own mistakes and learn from them. She has always trusted me and respected my decisions, especially the major ones. She never questioned me once when I decided to go to school out of state. She supported me 100% when I moved all the way across the country to Los Angeles, even though I know it was so hard for her to have me go so far away. 

From crawling in to her bed when I had nightmares to long distance phone calls about how long to cook a casserole....my mother has always been there for me. She is a beautiful example of love and I can't believe I was blessed enough to have her as mine. 

I still don't know what exactly I want to do with my life...but one thing is for sure. I want to be a mother. Ever since I was a little girl that was one thing I was certain of. And you know why? I think its because I had such an exceptional one. I have always been on the receiving end of this selfless, giving, pure, unconditional love. That's what I want to be when I grow up. I want to be a Mama and I want to be just like her. 

Day 85: I am grateful for my Mother. My Mama. "The Mom!" No words will every be able to express just how much so.

Mama,

Thank you. Thank you for always being there. For loving me so completely and unconditionally. For supporting me and letting me be whoever I wanted to be. I know I wasn't always a walk in the park and I probably made you want to pull your hair our more than once...but you always made me feel like your baby. And I am. Your baby. Always. 

The older I get the more and more I realize just how much you gave, just how hard you worked. I wish I could've realized it then, but I am so glad that I realize it now and can show you just how much all of that hard work was and is appreciated. 

Thank you for every hug, every kiss, every moment we've had together. You have filled my 30 years with so much joy and I love you with every fiber of my being.

I am so grateful for you. Happy Mother's Day. 

Love - 10 lbs every day!

Subie