Tomorrow is Mother’s Day

(Mom holding my cousin’s son at my wedding reception)

My mother is a beautiful woman. She’s young (forty), and she looks even younger. Now that I’m married, I rarely see her (though we live six minutes from each other) because life gets in the way. Schedules conflict. There’s not enough time in the day. They’re really horrible excuses when I think about it, but they’re true. Whenever I do get to see her, it’s not for long, and I’m bombarded by my siblings, anyway. (Not that I mind because I love them both dearly.)

Growing up, my mom and I didn’t have the best relationship. She married my dad at the age of eighteen (after knowing him for eight days), and she had me a little over a year later. She was still a kid (I realize this now, as I’m older than she was at the time, and I still feel way too young to have children of my own) in a way; I’m sure she had no idea  what she was doing, but she did it anyway–raised me, that is. Even when my dad had to go to war in Desert Storm, she took care of my sister and I. (My sister [Amanda] was born eactly twenty-one months after me.) I never really thanked her for that, and in my teen years, I “hated” my parents. (I didn’t really hate them, but you know how teenagers can be.) One day, I wanted her to be my best friend; the next day, I wanted her to stop asking what was going on in my life. I didn’t appreciate her like I should have.

When I moved out, I missed the fact that she could tell me what to do. I mean, she could still tell me, but I didn’t have to listen. It scared me, though. I wanted someone to make those important decisions for me. Even when Josh and I wanted to go to Walmart at one in the morning, I wanted to call Mom (or Dad) and ask if it was okay.

I’ve come to a point now, only two years after I moved out of my parents house, where I am able to appreciate my mom and love her more as a friend than someone who tells me what to do. We still have a long way to go–I want us to be able to be the best of friends. Hopefully, in a few years, that’ll happen.

Tomorrow is Mother’s Day; I’m not sure when I’ll be able to see Mom, but I’m going to, even if it’s for just enough time to give her the gift I bought her and hug her while letting her know that I appreciate her.