Happy Mother's Day Mom!

Ahh, Mother's Day. The one day a year that everyone on the planet simultaneously thinks about their mothers. After all, everyone has a mother.

When I was growing up my mother was, and still is, a military spouse. So it comes as no surprise that the things I'm most grateful to my mother for are all wrapped up in my military childhood. My mother truly is one of my heroes.



She is my definition of a Super Mom. A Mom who can move us from country to country - without my Dad.

The woman who promises that this move will be an adventure. The woman who gives me the biggest hug in the world after I say goodbye to my life and get on a plane and make that move.

The woman who reminds me, on my first day of school, that I'm a champion. That I've done this so many times before. That I can do it again.

The keeper of happiness. The woman who fills my life with optimistic thinking when I feel so alone and everything around me is strange, unfamiliar and very different. The woman who is a solid wall of strength when my father is so very far away, for so very long. The woman that holds our family together when we're all at a distance geographically - even still today.

The woman who really knows who I am, where I've been and the many steps it took to get where I am today. The woman who knows where it all began. The woman who knows my entire world and carries it with her. She is the gateway to things and places long forgotten - things and places that I'll never be able to revisit.

Some people are lucky - they get to live near their mothers for the course of their entire life. I'm not as lucky. My parents live on the opposite side of the nation, and yet I feel so fortunate, because for right now at least they don't live on the opposite side of the world. I can call my mom daily if I want which isn't something I could do a few years ago. I can call her and she's in the same time zone. I can take a three hour plane ride and be at her front door. While she may be far away, for the first time in many years, she's much more reachable.

My mother is an amazing person and I am so very thankful to have her. Happy Mother's Day Mom. You're the best.