My Mom

Today is my Mom’s birthday. In five days, she will have been gone five years. This season had always been a busy one for our family. First is Thanksgiving, then my birthday, then Christmas, then my parent’s anniversary, and finally Mom’s birthday. In 2020 going into 2021, we all knew each of those things was going to be her last. That particular season it all slowed down, we all slowed down. Rather than worrying about everything that needed done, we all spent time with my mom. My boys would go sit with her and tell her about their day. I watched Lifetime Christmas movies with her, something I had never done before, but now do it every year. The holidays have gotten easier over the past couple of years, but this day, and this week, hasn’t dulled.

My mom was my best friend. She was that one person who always had my back. My biggest cheerleader, my hype man, the one who truly thought I could do anything. She was so strong and such a positive person. I had a dream of making it big singing, and she made me believe anything was possible. When I lived in Nashville (the days you had to pay for long distance calls), we talked on the phone every day racking up hundreds of dollars in phone bills! When my dad said we needed to talk less, my mom told him she was going to talk to me for as long as I needed her.😂 She loved me unconditionally, I didn’t have to be smarter or prettier or happier or perfect for her to love me. She rooted for me in every choice I made, even if she disagreed with it. When she died, I no longer had that. I didn’t even realize how important that was until I lost it.

I really miss those hour long phone calls. I have so much I would like to tell her. I would tell her how sorry I am that I took her support for granted. I realize now that not everyone gets a mom like mine, she truly was special. I would love to tell her that Cole will graduate with his Masters in Biology this year and then is taking the MCAT, and Brady is studying for the LSAT while finishing his junior year at UGA. I would share how proud I am of both of them for being unashamedly themselves. Even in the midst of some very hard times, they didn’t waver or back down on who they were. They stand up for what they believe and both want to make the world a better place. I would tell her that I may not have made it in our dream of me traveling the world singing, but her ability to dream big was passed on. My positivity and my unconditional support for my kids, comes from her. They are reaching for their stars because she told me stars are reachable.

She was far from perfect, but she never tried to be. She was just her and was never ashamed to be her. She was the one person who truly let me be me. Happy Birthday, Mama.