Love Letter to Mom

My mom is going on retreat this coming weekend. The people giving the retreat ask that friends and family write a "love letter" to the retreatant. This is my love letter to my mom.

Mom,

I’m glad you are going on a CRHP. I hope to go on one too…so you’ll have to let me know how you like it. You’ve done this whole letter thing before…but it’s always nice to hear from loved ones how much they love you. So here is my letter to you.

One thing that totally blesses me is your desire to help me with the kids and the house. It is so reassuring knowing that you are only 10 minutes away. At this challenging time in my life with two little ones, you know exactly how to help me. From watching the kids while I go to a Doctors appointment to coming over so I don’t have to wake up Ben when I pick up the kids from school. You’ve been there so many times for me, I don’t know how to thank you enough.

Another blessing is just being able to hang out with you. I love it when we can go out to lunch or go shopping. I love the time we spend together. I think about the mothers and daughters who are separated by miles and miles and I’m so glad that is not us. I really enjoy your company. Some people who have parents who get on their nerves. I’m glad I don’t feel that way. I love you. I really do. And even more than that, we have a good laugh when we’re together. You let me joke and be silly. I feel comfortable in being myself. Thank you.

I’m also so grateful that you gave me two awesome sisters. It’s a gift that you might not realize…I will continue to blessed by long after your gone. My sisters are my best friends. They are the Godmothers of my children, they are my faith confidants, they are my listening ears on a hard day. I will always be totally grateful and overwhelmed by the awesomeness of this gift. They are a creation from you and dad as close to me as I can get. Thank you for my sisters.

I thank you for my brothers too. Not because we are close or see each other much. But through them I have seen a marriage be tested, a love that is strong, a couple that perseveres through difficult times. Because of them, I will know that my family does not have to be perfect because no family is. Because of them, I am more compassionate to different personalities that see things in ways that I don’t. Because of them, I know that no matter how hard you try as a parent, in the end you have to accept that your children will chose their own walk. I’ve also learned that you don’t have to give up on praying for them. Thank you for setting this example for me.

You’ve shown me how to watch my money, but also to splurge on the things that I really love. You’ve shown me how to love my house and make it feel cozy, homey, and pretty.

You’ve shown me how to be feminine, proper (not that I always am), pretty, and to dress myself with respect as a woman of God. I think I chose such a great husband, because I knew I was worth it. You only chose the best for yourself. Dad has done such an awesome job of helping you raise six kids, helping you through the worse times of your illness, and always rescuing his beautiful princess whenever she felt in need of it. I think I intuitively knew I needed this attentitiveness…and found it in Ted. Thank you for setting the example of what I should expect from my husband.

Thank you for showing me how to be a prayerful woman of God. I’m still working on this. But I know God reaches me where I am. I know he hears my prayer from the craziness of our house. I know this because you knew it. You taught me to know it. I know my God is always here…compassionate and loving. He has been there for you and he will be here for me. Thank you for living out your faith so openly with me. It’s a lifelong gift that will always be feeding me and sustaining me.

I love you mom. I hope you are enjoying your retreat (even though you are sleeping on the floor). Thank you for all that you do and all that you are.

Missy