To All The Mothers In My Life

To All the Mothers in my Life,

Thank you.

Thank you for showing up for me, and loving me so well all these years. Thank you for teaching me how to be a mother myself, how to place my family as a priority, how to cook and how to do laundry, and how to be OK when I can’t get to the laundry or clean my house. Thank you for teaching me that a wildly messy house can also be a beautiful home – when it is filled with love, joy, wonder, imagination and creative play. Thank you also for showing me how to reach out, and ask for help. That needing support is a big part of motherhood.

To my mom, who taught me early on the importance of playing outside, how making my bed and cleaning up clutter and taking time to read and rest really does free up space in my mind. Thank you, Mom, for doing your best when all the odds felt stacked against you. I can only imagine how hard it must’ve been to be a single parent. You have been such a blessing to my children. I’m so thankful we live near you again.

I’m so thankful for the many women who mothered me during my childhood. My grandma was like a second mom to me, she lived next door and taught me the value of living on budget, working hard, and saving money. She also taught me about the value of time. How it may feel like there’s all the time in the world for the things that matter most, but in reality, time is not promised. Time can be a thief. My grandma lived with an urgency that Jesus would be coming back soon, and built her life around His promises. Clinging to Him even as she struggled to breathe through the many years of her illness. Grandma, I still miss you.

To the neighborhood moms who brought us meals as kids, who took me to see flying acrobats and on weekend beach adventures, who showed me what dinner around the table as a family could look like – thank you. To my dear friend’s mom, who paid for all my college applications and encouraged me that I could do anything if I set my mind to it and worked hard, thank you so much. You believed in me, and that gave me faith in myself. Thank You.

Thank you to my mother-in-law for showing me the rugged beauty of Alaska during our time living there. I’m so thankful that I gave Alaska a chance, because I got to know you better, and see a more complete picture of who my husband is, how he was raised, who his family is. Thank you for all our lunch dates and shopping trips and times when you’d watch my first baby. You are so generous and thoughtful.

To my husband’s grandmas who were my pen pals many years, thank you. I treasured our correspondence about gardening in Alaska, sweet snippets of family life through your handwritten notes. I’m so thankful I got to spend time with each of you in your last years. What a gift.

To my best friend’s mom, who would make us the most amazing ham and sweet gherkin paninis with melty cheese, spinach soufflé, white chocolate cheesecake and could host a group for an incredible meal like it was no big deal, thank you. Thank you for being a second mother to me during college, when it was hard for me to be so far away from my home. Thank you for opening up your home to me.

To my dear friends who have become mothers in this journey with me, thank you. Thank you so much for having me over to vent, taking my phone calls and FaceTime’s and helping me to know that I’m not crazy. Motherhood is crazy. Thank you so much for letting me weep when I’m faced with hard things. Thank you for sharing my joy when things go right. I love walking this path with each of you, you give me so much insight into my own heart.

To all the women in my life who weren’t able to have children, chose not to have children, or are still waiting for children – thank you for the gift you’ve been in my life. You’ve been like a mom to me. For your mentoring, your wisdom, your tender care and your generous love for my children. Thank you for loving on Ken and me when we lived in Seattle and then Anchorage, in Eastern Washington and now on Maui.

To all the moms in my life, thank you.

You are seen.

You are loved.

You are celebrated.

Happy Mother’s Day!