“Happy Mother’s Day, Mom!”

Yesterday, I read this quote of the MyLife24-7.org facebook page (which you definitely should “like”):

“The commonest fallacy among women is that simply having children makes one a mother—which is as absurd as believing that having a piano makes one a musician.” Sydney J. Harris

I’m always saddened when I see people who grew up with this reality, a mom who truly was never their mother. I’m lucky that I never had to face this. My mom has always been incredible…

She makes the best big pancakes on the planet, prepares the best English Toffee every Christmas, and still cuts apples slices that are leaps and bounds above my every attempt (believe me, I’ve tried).

She can sew better than most contestants on Project Runway having made many of my clothes as a kid, several of my costumes for theatre, my cousin’s wedding dress, several baptismal gowns, recently some first communion dresses, and not one–but two Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoats (Joseph only had one)

She was the ultimate nurse take care of all “ouches” including my broken collar bone in second grade, my wisdom teeth recovery as a freshmen in college, and my bout with the swine flu on a trip to visit friends and family in California last summer.

She prepared me for living in life (and one day being a decent husband): I learned to do my own laundry in 3rd grade (and have done it ever since), learned to iron in 7th grade, and started cooking one meal a week for my family when I was in 8th grade (until my own high school schedule made that too difficult).

Yet, it’d be a crime to limit my mom’s great traits to the household tasks listed above as my mom is so much more.

She chose to stay at home with us kids during our primary years, going back to school to finish her teaching credential when I was in 8th grade. Since then, she has worked tirelessly to educate those students in her school, taking on whatever position is necessary to make that positive impact (I’ve seen her teach–it’s awesome).

She took on my challenge of signing up with Team In Training to do a half marathon and has surpassed every member of the family completing several half marathons, full marathons, and even a triathlon (I’d attempt to list the quantities, but I’d know I’d be wrong). When I did the Phoenix Half Marathon with her in 2009, I realized what incredible drive she has to do this.

On more than one occasion, she has dropped everything to support one of her kids. Last year, I had a mini-health scare where I thought I might need to head into surgery (luckily, I didn’t)–she was completely prepared to hop on a plane and fly out to Arizona to help out.

She is the emotional core of our family (don’t get me wrong–my dad is SUPER awesome as well), listening to everyone when we struggle and finding ways to support us and build us back up.

There is no way I’d be doing what I do today without her: she supported me when I went into teaching, helped me deal with the difficult decision to leave the classroom, and allowed me to live at home in those first few years as I built my business. She’s also given me the best compliment I’ve ever received in speaking. After I finished a workshop as a senior in high school (the first time she had ever seen me REALLY present), she came up to me and said that in presenting I reminded her of her grandpa Duffy. From what I’ve heard–he had a way with people.

As a teenager I was pretty rude to my mom and pretty sharp with my tongue, but my mom had the patience and understanding and love to see beyond my words. Now, I can’t go more than two weeks without giving my parents a call and catching up on their lives and sharing a bit of my own.

In two weeks, I had a speaking engagement nearby and will get to spend some time visit with my awesome parents. I’m really looking forward to it.

So today, I just wanted to take a moment and recognize and celebrate the amazing moms I know–cousins and friends who truly show what it means to be a parent, who find that extra ounce of energy, that extra fiber of patience, who are the biggest cheerleaders and strong compasses, who do not keep score but challenge us to stretch, and who provided our first definition of love.

Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms out there!

and most importantly

Happy Mother’s Day to my mom!