So much of what l’ve ever learned about love and life has come from my family. It would take an eternity-and then some more — to list all the reasons why almost everything I am today is because of them.
It might take a while to talk about each one of them — stories for another day. But here’s a start.
I grew up with this person. I’ve seen her go from a confused and angry woman in her late 20s to becoming my only respite, and now living the life she perhaps wanted to live in her 20s. (She has more friends than I do)
Like the warmest hug on the chilliest December morning. A cold beer after a long day at work. A soft handmade woolen sweater on a shivering body. How comforting, how loving, how thoughtful, can one person be?
Think — kindest, most loving, most selfless — it’s her.
People often say we look alike, and in retrospect, I think we really do. But it’s more than just that. It’s more than her being just my mother. I don’t know how it works but I think she’s a part of me? You know how it feels when you love someone so much that it physically hurts to see them unhappy, or stuck in a place they did nothing to be in, or just have to see them go through the slightest inconveniences in life?
Yes, that.
There’s a difference between talking about unconditional love and actually being loved unconditionally, so, so much that you never run out of it-through your best and your worst. I’ve seen her give that love to my brother, Sky and Lyla, me and all the animals that I swore to care for but she somehow adopted. I’ve seen her love all of us alike.
If you ask me to count my blessings, she’s my number one.
Thank you for giving up so many joys in life for us and never once complaining about it.
