Happy Mother's Day

I am so grateful for my mother. She is probably the most amazing woman I know and I love her so much. She has so much faith and desire to do good and I learn so much from her. She has always been there for me and I am so grateful for the wonderful example she has set for me as a mother and wife. I am so grateful that she married my Dad and chose to stay home and take care of us instead of working. I am discovering how rare that is and I am grateful for it.

I am grateful for how safe my heart is with her. She told me several times as I was growing up that I could talk to her about anything and that I could tell her anything. That knowledge has been my safeguard and has saved me a lot of stress and trouble. I have always known that I can trust her and that any secrets would be safe with her. I remember when I was little, my friends would ask me to promise “not to tell anyone” and I would tell them that I promised not to tell anyone except for my Mom and Dad, if I felt I needed to tell them. That is the kind of relationship my Mom made it possible to have with her and I am so grateful for it.

My mom knows me better that anyone else. She says that she always knows not to advise me but just to listen when I am making a decision or have an idea. She does do that and is really good at it. I had big dreams when I was little and I still do. She is the one who listens and supports my dreams with encouragement and questions that make me count the costs before I begin. When I was little, I wanted to be all sorts of things, including a ventriloquist, the President, a mom, an orphanage lady, and an actress. She supported me in all those dreams and never told me they were too big or that I shouldn’t pursue them, even when I had to borrow her phone to call Disney about acting positions :).

When I was living at home and Mom and I would have an argument, I would often go talk to Dad about it and he would always say that the reason I argued with Mom more than with him is because we (Mom and I) are so much alike and we both have strong spirits. I hope this is true and I think it is in a lot of ways. We are both strong-willed. We both have opinions and know how to defend them. We both have tender sides to us and love will always work better than force when working with us. Telling us what to do will not work, unless you are God or we can see that your way really is better. We both have integrity and value the truth. We both think outside of the box and are willing to try something that others might consider weird. We both love with all we have and our loyalty is something worth having.

I don’t know how many of these traits that I have are inherent or if I learned them from my mother. I think it is a combination of both and I am so grateful for my mother and how she has passed on her characteristics to me and taught me to develop my inherent traits. She is the perfect mother for me and I think she is the best!

I love you Mom and I hope you have a wonderful Mother’s Day.

Love,

Jaylee