Thoughts on Royalty . . .

Today is my mom’s birthday.  She is in Colorado celebrating it with my Dad, my baby brother and his family, and possibly her older sister.  Selfishly, I wish she were here because I want to shower her with love and affection.  Plus, I hate missing a party!

In lieu of gifts, cards, flowers and sweets, Mom, I’m sending you this heart-felt message across the vast and tangled web of the world:

I love you more with each passing year.  As I continue on my journey of motherhood with its ups and downs, I become acutely aware of the love of a mother – of your love for me.  It is a love so intense and real, knit together with ties that cannot  be severed, a love so strong that it can cause the greatest of joys and the sharpest of pain.

Only now that I am raising four children of my own can I truly appreciate the work you have done and continue to do in my life.  It is no small sacrifice and I am aware and in awe of you.

Thank you for loving me.  For taking care of me.  For serving me and my little family. For giving me the Gospel of Jesus Christ. For being my cheerleader. For making me laugh.  For making me food.  For doing my laundry all those years. For giving me a huge portion of my creative spirit. For giving me a true and constant friend and listening ear. For introducing me to Jane Austen and Edward Cullen and Hercule Peroit.  For, well, for everything.

I love you, Mom.  I hope you have a marvelous birthday in the Mile High City.  Let’s do lunch at Clyde’s when you get home – you, me and that little Ollie who adores you, but not nearly as much as I do.