I’m not sure what Mother’s Day is, or what it isn’t.  Everyone has their own idea about what a mother should be and what a mother looks like and how she should act.  There’s the helicopter mom, the soccer mom, the working mom, the stay-at-home mom, the step mom, the grand-mom, the mama’s and the mums and the momma’s and the mommy’s and the mothers, and a wide variety of other types of those we call mom.  When I think of Mother’s Day I reflect back on my childhood and what my mom meant to me.  And I think of the good times and the fun times and the triggers that help me feel love and appreciation for my mom.  Most of the triggers are big events or milestones, yet there are also the smaller triggers like being rocked to sleep when I didn’t feel good.  Or holding my head up at night when I had a bad cough so I could try to get some sleep.  Or letting me keep the stray dog that had puppies underneath our front porch.  I named her Cesaer.  Or letting me run through the sprinklers in the yard  whenever I needed to cool off, whether I had clothes on or not.  Or crying with me when I needed to cry.  And laughing with me when I needed to laugh.  Or just sitting in the same room with me when she knew I didn’t want to be alone.  All these things wrap up into my version of a mom.   I think it boils down to how our mom’s make us feel.  And around my mom I feel safe.

As 2017 keeps plugging along, let’s keep letting our mom’s make us feel safe.  It’s a good feeling.

With love from Grand Haven,

Julie