This photo is from one of the first pages in a scrapbook my mom made for me, which chronicles my life from birth until not long after I had Sophie, my first child. It's one of those cherished mementos I would be more proud to share with friends if it weren't for the bad perms I sported in every photograph from about 5th grade until my college roommate knocked some sense into my sense of fashion.
I'm sure it won't come as a huge surprise to say I didn't appreciate my mom nearly enough when I was younger. That may be typical of a mother-teenage daughter relationship, but I'm ashamed to admit I didn't really realize how amazing my mom is until I had kids of my own. I remember taking a walk with her when Sophie was just a newborn, and even if my feelings were influenced by post-partum hormones, I was still profoundly moved by an awareness of all the sacrifices she had made as the mother of four children - of which I wasn't always one of the most grateful. I still apologize, every now and then, for my behavior as a teenager.
Looking through this scrapbook, I see countless examples of the love my mom demonstrated at every stage of my life - the birthdays made special by handmade personalized cakes, her loyal attendance at school functions, girl scout ceremonies, band concerts, and dance recitals - and all the accoutrements for which she took responsibility, countless meals and additional preparations for every family vacation and holiday gathering, her tireless efforts to make homecomings and proms special, standing by me as I transitioned - not always gracefully - from a girl into a young woman....going off to college and then grad school, getting married, having children. Later, though not pictured in my scrapbook, my mom became a pillar of support when I went through my divorce and struggled to begin a new life as a single mom of three.
I know it's cliché, but what I realized as a first-time parent and have come to understand even more fully in recent years, is that my mom really is much wiser and more dedicated than even she would probably give herself credit - certainly more than I ever did. For her, that's just what it means to be a parent: To be present in your children's lives. To love through all means available in order to make their every day ordinary lives extraordinary. To be supportive through whatever challenges life brings, even when your children make choices you wouldn't have made. To listen and every so often offer a gentle reminder that "tomorrow is a new day, and this too shall pass." My mom does all that AND she makes a mean apple pie.
Tomorrow is a new day, but this one shall not pass until I dedicate this to my beloved mom on her birthday...
With love,
~Emily
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