My Mom

I just spent the past three days visiting my mom in Virginia. It was the first time I'd seen her in 3 years, and I must say that it was great seeing her again. :)

My mom and I have had our share of disagreements in the past, mainly due to her trying to "mother" me too much (I know... she's a mom, it's what moms do). :) But now that I'm financially independent, she doesn't bother with it too much other than the occasional phone call telling me to take vitamins or get health check-ups. This trip, therefore, we were able to just sit and talk and just get a feel for how we've both changed over the past few years. It was good getting a chance to talk to my mom that way.

She's quite happy with her life now, and I'm quite happy for her. She's got a great job, she lives in a wonderful area of Virginia, and she's more at peace now than I've seen her in a long time. The only thing more I could wish for her would be to never have this ride end. ;)

All of this, however, has made me think about the people that shape our lives, and at how often we never get to appreciate all of the things they've done for us in the past. As kids, one of the easiest things to do is to love the "great" uncle or aunt or grandparent who spoils us and gives us anything we want. It's much harder to appreciate the stern parent who disciplines us or who decides not to give us everything, in order that we may appreciate things when we do get them.

As a teacher, I've seen my share of spoiled kids, and the one constant that I've noticed with each of them is that there's always at least one parent that never learned to say "no". My mom was never like that. She always made it a point to make me earn whatever it was I wanted, and even at the risk of alienating me, she never tried to spoil me. It wasn't so great as a kid, of course, but now, many years later, I've truly come to understand that it was all for my greater good, and I've just come to love her even more for it.

So to my mom, the greatest mom in the world, let me just take this opportunity to say, "Thank You!" for denying me many things, for having the courage to listen to me whine about it for years, and for always having the foresight to know that it was all for the better.

I love you. :)