Celebration

Mother's Day is the day we pay homage to the women who stand by us unconditionally, never faltering and always putting us first. For some Mother's Day is meant to share with the women who have made a difference in their lives, but not necessarily their biological mothers.

I have been so fortunate to have had a spectacular mother and many many special women who have taken me by the hand and helped me along my way. Never judging and always nurturing, never taking my mothers place but being that sounding board for my hopes and dreams, questions and self-reflection and even in the dark days when I needed that caring honesty that puts you over the top, allowing you to pull through challenges you didn't think you could navigate.

When I think about the fact my mom has been gone for seven years it sometimes feels like a hundred since I have seen her smiling face and sometimes the pain of her lose is as sharp as if it were yesterday. What an amazing woman she was in every sense of the word. Kind, loving, loyal and she was strong and almost unstoppable. Her love for my father and me was true and constant no matter what the circumstances.

I remember when she was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1982 and how carefully she told me. Not wanting to scare me she acted as if it was no big thing just a simple procedure. A modified Radical Mastectomy is no minor procedure and she moved through those days after her surgery like a swan, gracefully and with great dignity. What an example she was to me, how could I ever follow in those footsteps. How lucky I was to have her for fifty-three years. She went on to live another twenty-one years after her treatment never even skipping a beat.

To my mom and all those special women who make a difference in the lives of so many this entry is dedicated to you. Happy Mother's Day.


Celeste