Mother's Day Thoughts

Sunday, May 12th, Mother's Day.

I want to give a shout out to two amazing woman in my life.

My mom......

My mother is so full of love. She has given up so much to support us over the years, I'm sure we will never truly know all of her sacrifices.  One thing is certain, we always came and still come first in her world.  

I know it wasn't easy dealing with us throughout the years.  Raising two girls is no easy task...although I can't know from experience yet, I do look back and remember everything my sister and I went through and she has had to go through the same things along with us...... mood swings, boyfriend breakups, friendship woes....just to name a few.

She has been there for all of our success and accomplishment as well.  We were never deprived of "I Love You's" or hugs and kisses.  Even if we didn't want to hear it, she told us she loved us and was always proud of us. 

 Deep down she may have not always known the right thing to say in some situations, but now I know, it didn't matter what she said...she was there for us.  She still is there for us.  I can't wait for my daughter to meet my mother and feel all the love she still has to give...because I know her love is endless.  She is the true definition of a mother.

My sister....

My sister has been a mother to my niece now for 5 years.  I remember when I first saw her as a mother.  My niece was born in May 2008 and I went to visit them in Illinois just a couple months after she was born.  They had not even been in Illinois a year.  Ryan, my brother in law, got a job out there after graduation so they made the move from Pennsylvania to Illinois shortly after.  They had no friends, no family, and my sister was pregnant with my niece.  A lot was changing for them in a short amount of time.

When I went to visit for a week, I was so amazed at my sister.  My niece suffered from colic for the first few months of her life and things were not always easy.  I was really in awe of how much love my sister had for Aubrey.  I had never seen her in a "mother" role.  How did she know what to do?  How did she keep calm when Aubrey was crying and hard to settle down?...I asked myself.  I could tell that although things were not easy, and there were frustrations and times of doubt, my sister had a love for my niece that was pure and unconditional. Her purpose in life now was to care for this tiny human.  And she has done such an amazing job at raising her to be a kind, caring and loving little girl.  I look up to her, as I always have, not only as a sister now, but as a mother.