She carried me for nine months.
Breastfed me for two years.
Kissed my boo-boos (of which there were many).
Stayed home and raised me and my two sisters.
Would tickle my back at night when I had a nightmare to ease me back to sleep.
Didn't send me to preschool because home with her was where she wanted me.
Made my dresses because I was too tall to wear the ones sold in the stores.
Never bought a cake from a store for my birthday but made it herself from scratch.
Signed me up for art classes to boost my self-esteem when I floundered socially.
Taught me how to pluck my eyebrows and shave my legs when I was 12.
Held me as I cried when a boy broke my heart (of which there were many).
Never told me she was disappointed in me when I got pregnant at 16.
Held me as I cried when I miscarried and never told me, "it was probably for the best"
Sent me off to college with her favorite pillow and blanket for my bed.
Welcomed me back with open arms when I dropped out 2 months later and never made me feel like a failure for it...even though I did.
Didn't kick me out of the house when I told her I didn't believe in God anymore...instead she quietly told me she would pray for me.
Helped me pack my car as I prepared to drive 2000 miles across the country to a city I had never visited, to a job I didn't have yet, into the company of a friend she had never met...and never once told me I was crazy.
Told me she was proud of me when I not only made it in one piece but flourished on my own just like she always knew I would.
Walked down the aisle ahead of me as I got married a year later.
Called me every week (or I her) to talk about what was happening in our lives so far apart.
Never asked me why she didn't have a grandchild yet...knowing it was not happening as easily as we thought it would.
Rejoiced with me when I told her infertility had brought me to my knees and back into the arms of Jesus who had saved me from myself.
Cried tears of joy when I told her she would have to come visit in January of 2003 to say hello to her new grandson, Sam.
Encouraged me in breastfeeding little Sam who had so much trouble getting it down but never once looked down on me when I gave in to the bottle when he was six months old.
Answered the phone late in the evening of June 11, 2004 and said, "Hello, Angel pie." when she heard my voice.
Talked to me for over an hour that night about nothing and everything before telling me she loved me and that she needed to get to bed.
Passed out the next morning in her bedroom and didn't have the stroke in her car because if she had many other people may have been hurt.
Hung on for a full day until I could get get to her bedside to say goodbye and thank her for everything she did for me.
Slipped away quietly and at peace the next morning after the longest night of my life by her bedside surrounded by my sisters.
...She was so much more than my Mom. She was my heart, she was my best friend, and now she is my angel and I am blessed beyond measure for the beautiful 28 years I had her.
I love you Mama.
I miss you forever and always.
Love, your daughter,
