"M" is for my mother.

We've had an amazing graduation weekend, but I'll tell all about that later. We decided to postpone Mother's Day at our house so I haven't thought much about it. Something my friend Meredith said about my last post reminded me how blessed I am to have such a great mother and mother in law.

The moment I had my son, my mother became the most amazing woman in the world to me. That anyone could do that more than once blew my mind and the fact that she had done it successfully eight times was beyond me. How did she keep it all together? How did we all end up relatively normal and happy? I still don't know how she did it, but I'm grateful for the sacrifices she made for all of us.

There are so many things I admire about her. In the interest of space, I want to share what I love most about my mom. She has so much love for her friends and especially for the young people that come into her life. If any of us brought a friend over, she immediately invited them in for dinner and dessert. Sometimes she'd get so attached to boys we were dating, she took it harder than we did when things didn't work out. She adores all of her son-in-laws as if they were her own kids. She is constantly taking care of the needs of others so I hope she gets some time to herself this Mother's Day.

To quote Meredith on my last post: "I love the pictures, especially the one of you and Patti. It reminds me how you totally SCORED in the mother-in-law department!" My friends were really excited for me when I got engaged to Jeff, but they were pea green with envy that Patti would be my mother-in-law. She's been a source of joy and support in my life since I was 13 years old. She attended nearly every play I was in since high school. When she reads, sees, or hears something funny she gives me a call so I can enjoy it, too.

For the past four years she has come over every Friday to play with the kids while I go do whatever I want. Sometimes "whatever I want" is to sit and talk about our week. She's such a wonderful grandma because she lets the kids do whatever they want (if it's not dangerous) and they know that she's there just for them. I love her ability to just be there, in the moment, and give you her undivided attention. During the past few years I have really come to look forward to Fridays. I think I'll miss you most of all, Scarecrow.

To the right I have posted my favorite poem in the world. Happy Mother's Day to all of you!