Dear Mom

Dear Mom, Thank you for being patient with me as I learned to walk and tie my shoes and fill my belly and do arithmetic and assemble outfits and find myself and lose myself and find myself again.  Without a doubt, this patience took serious work.

Dear Child, May I be patient with you, during the moments of sweetness and the irrational tantrums and everything in between.

Dear Mom, Thank you for reading books to me long after I learned to read them myself, just because it meant spending time snuggled together.

Dear Child, May you too want to snuggle for years and years and years.

Dear Mom, Thank you for loving yourself just the way you are, and teaching me the value of doing the same.  Thank you for showing me what it looks like to be at peace with your body and your soul, and giving me the freedom to find that peace on my own.

Dear Child, May you love yourself just the way you are, and find peace wherever you are.

Dear Mom, Thank you for showing me that broccoli and carrots and beans and peas are delicious.

Dear Child, May you someday realize that broccoli and carrots and beans and peas are indeed delicious.

Dear Mom, Thank you for showing me the power of my own body — teaching me to swim and jump and kick and dance and run and roll down hills and climb back up and do it all again.

Dear Child, May you know the power of your body and use it for good every single day.

Dear Mom, Thank you for teaching me the value of family…that family comes before anything, and that you need roots before you can grow wings.  Thank you for giving me a sense of my past, but giving me the freedom to design my own future.

Dear Child, May you love your family and know your roots…and then grow a gorgeous set of wings.

Dear Mom, Thank you for telling me to make my own good decisions, rather than making the decisions for me.

Dear Child, May you please, please, please make good decisions.

Dear Mom, Thank you for showing me the true meaning of grace — welcoming everyone with a smile, listening well, taking time, thinking of other people before yourself, and treating every person you meet with dignity.

Dear Child, May you walk through this world with grace and peace and openness.

Dear Mom, Thank you for teaching me that health is a lifestyle, not an event….that health is about moving every single day, breathing fresh air, eating real food, and finding joy in the everyday.

Dear Child, May you choose health.  Every day.  In every season of your life.

Dear Mom, Thank you for giving me strong hugs and making me naturally give them to others.

Dear Child, May you give and receive hugs big enough to move mountains.

Dear Mom, Thanks for loving me just as I am.

Dear Child, May you know every minute that I love you just the way you are.

Dear Mom, Happy Mother’s Day.  Thanks for being such a beautiful mother.

Dear Child, Happy Mother’s Day.  Thanks for making me a mother.