Mom's Birthday

While mom and dad were still in town, we celebrated mom's birthday. We always celebrate birthdays on Sunday and Carrie and her family come over and it's awesome. That's one of the big things I missed for the first ten years of being married and not living near family - birthday celebrations just weren't the same. Now we get to do a nice dinner and cake. Nothing huge, but just enough special to put the birthday person in the spotlight for a minute and hopefully help that person feel the love of family.

Today was mom's turn and whether it looks like it or not, this was our clan singing our hearts out for our mom, wife and granny:

Mom is always a great audience and I think she is sincere in her joy of being sung to and celebrated.

How fun is it to see my 73 year old mom blowing out those candles? She gets more beautiful all the time.

As a kid I remember locking horns with my mom over a lot of things, but I always respected her and willingly melted into her cuddles and hugs. As I get older, I'm realizing my mom was really my number one fan and she believed in me way more than I believed in myself. Growing up I knew that I wanted to measure up to what she believed I could be and because of her faith in me, I had hope for myself.

Even once I grew up and got married, I remember needing her so much, especially when I had Brita. I knew that her presence would give me strength and I knew she would be the boost of confidence that would tell me I could be a mom even though I didn't know where to begin. I knew she would believe in me when I couldn't believe in myself. And that's exactly what happened. I remember the day she left after being with us for two or three weeks after Brita's birth. I hugged her so tight and cried out loud. I so didn't want her to go and leave me to figure things out on my own. She had taught me well for the first few weeks of Brita's life, but I felt vacant of ideas of my own and knew I had much to learn. She looked me square in the eyes and with conviction said, "You can do this, Rachelle. You can do this." I knew she really believed that I could be a good mom and I held onto that for the longest time. I still call on those words when things get tough in the world of parenting.

I know that I'm one of the blessed ones of this world to have that kind of mother's love in my life. Not everyone gets it, but I'm determined to carry on the tradition of loving and believing in my girls because I know I'm better for it. I know it's my mom's birthday and all, but she's the one whose giving the gifts. I love her.