Mother's of the Day

Mother's Day is a wonderful day to celebrate and appreciate all of the women of influence in my life. There are so many good examples of motherhood in my life, too many to even count. I have beautiful and influential Aunts, I have kind, gracious and loving neighbors, I have teachers, friends, a sister, and leadership. Everyday I see at least one example of what it means to be a woman of faith, kindness, and strength. I want to thank each and every one of you. I especially want to thank my two official Mother's.

Today I spoke in church on "Women of Faith and Courage." One of the stories that first came to mind was of Queen Esther. Growing up my mom worked and I remember a couple of summers spent with a nanny of sorts. She would take us to her house and her family had the cartoon bible stories on VHS. I swear we watched the story of Esther every day, it was my most favorite. I always remember thinking my mom was just like Esther. It helped that the cartoon version was beautiful and had dark hair, just like my mom, but also that this woman had so much faith and courage that she would do anything to protect her family and her people. She put her life on the line for them. I knew my mom would do something like that for our family too. I love her so much and want to be just like her. She and my brother came to listen to me speak and mom didn't think she would cry, but she did. She cried when I told the story of my kindergarten "momdog" plate. But that story is for another time.

My other official mom is Lara, mother to my sweet husband. She is a wonder to behold and one of the most sincerely happiest people I have ever met. This woman is fully committed to her family, something I admire and wish to emulate. If any of her kids needs something she is there. Babysitter, there. Dog watcher, there. House cleaner, there. She loves getting all her kids together and having big family gatherings. She also loves to cook way too much food, something she passed down to her son. I love Lara so much. When I got home from church today Spen received a call from his mom. She was in the hospital after having a weekend full of shoulder pain. She said she went in expecting a pain killer, but they ended up admitting her, saying there were enzymes in her blood that should not have been there and they wanted to run some more tests to make sure there wasn't something more serious going on. Spen was a little stressed about it, but one of the reasons she called him was because she wanted all of her kids to know what was going on, but knew he would be the one to keep a level head. We both love Lara so much and it was hard to know she was going through something like this on Mother's Day.

Anyways, I want to wish all those women of great influence, especially my Mom and Mother in Law, a happy Mother's Day. You inspire me and mold me every day.