on the shelf next to my bed, i keep a picture of my mom and me.  in the picture i’m about two years old. i’m sitting on mom’s lap (i think it was a Sears Photo Studio kind of posed shot), and we both are smiling so big that our eyes are squinty and our faces have turned into just big cheese-balls of joy. i look at this picture and i see how much we’ve always loved each other, how much we’ve always enjoyed each other, how much we’ve always resembled each other. i look at this picture and i see pure love.

i happen to know that this picture was taken during one of the most difficult times in mom’s life. she was a newly-single mom, struggling to make ends meet, not always getting along with her own family, not always confident in herself. this makes this picture even more vibrant for me; no matter what, my mom always put me first, always laughed with me, always shared with me, always made me feel like a mother’s love is boundless and limitless and healing and true.

in our 35 years together, my mother has moved mountains for me. she’s given me everything she had and more. she’s encouraged my dreams and listened to my stories and given me advice and support and a shoulder to lean on. she’s been my biggest admirer and my very best friend. she’s taught me that it’s important to be yourself, and that if you try to be good, good things will come to you (eventually). she’s my hero and my confidante. she’s an amazing, adored, grandmother, and a loving auntie. children are always drawn to her because of her brightness and her willingness to be a kid herself (also, because she knows lots of good songs to sing, and always has cookie dough in the house and enough instruments for every guest to play). she’s funny and really really smart. she can hold her liquor and knows how to make a bet. she has a sporty little convertible and loves good music. her eyes are the most beautiful shade of blue, and when she cries it hangs on your heart. she’s a (certified!) master gardener and she knows how to grow things; beautiful, wild, things. she’s got a great laugh and still has that smile that takes up her whole face. when people say we look alike, mom and i know they’re talking about that smile.

whenever my mom sees a typewriter or open keyboard, she types this line from Abbey Road: “and in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make.”

that used to make me giggle, and it’s always made me smile. but i understand it’s her absolute truth, too: my mom puts so much love in the world. so much. she deserves just as much coming right back at her.

happy mother’s day, mums. thank you for the love.



happy mother’s day, too, to all of you. not just mothers, but to every woman who helps nurture and guide me and my child; you make this world better, easier, and gentler, and you help make me a better mother. thank you for that.

xoxo