Happy 60th Birthday To My Mom

My mother will be turning 60 years old tomorrow. She wants to spend that day with all of her children and grandchildren. And that’s exactly what she’s getting.

[Yes! We have yet another ‘family function’ brewing at our Casa! Photos will follow suit.]

Although my mother told me that she didn’t want another “present”, considering everything she has done for me, I can’t just let this birthday slide without doing something a little extra. I’ve thought about this for weeks. I’ve spent hours trying to figure out the best way I can show my mother HOW MUCH I appreciate her. However, all I can come up with is this lousy letter.

I have no idea why it was so difficult to write this letter to my mother. Maybe it’s because I couldn’t find the right words? I wasn’t able to dig up the words that are big enough or good enough to define and express what my mother means to me. Every word seems so trite, so insignificant, and so very ‘done to death’. I spent three days trying to write this letter to my mother and I think it still falls terribly short of my intentions. Nonetheless, here it is…

Dear Mommy,

Happy Birthday!! Wow!! I can not believe you are 60 Years Old. That just doesn’t seem possible to me. I am sure it doesn’t seem real to you either!

I want to use this day as an opportunity to tell you exactly how much I love you. How much I respect you. And just how grateful I am…to have a mother like you.

When I look at you today, I see more than just my mother. I see an incredibly smart, funny, talented, passionate, courageous, beautiful woman who is beyond dedicated to her family. You are an exceptional role model, which has made me strive to be a better woman.

I don’t think I will ever be able to thank you enough for all that you do, have done, and will undoubtedly continue to do.

You are my go to source for direction, inspiration, and reality checks. I am forever amazed with your ability to problem solve with such tender loving care. Without you I wouldn’t know the meaning of unconditional love. Whenever I need you; to cheer me up, bolster my confidence, or sympathize with me, there you are. I don’t have to ask, or explain, you just instinctively know. You have always done for me and given me exactly what I needed even when I didn’t want it. You still have those magical mommy powers to ease my worries. Your presence in my life gives me the much needed reassuring feeling of security and peace.

I don’t know where in the world you found the tremendous strength to deal with all of life’s challenges you’ve had to face. I will never understand how you managed to tackle, handle, fix, correct, every single one of those challenges with such style and grace.

I can only hope that one day I will be as half as good of a mother, friend, and woman as you. I could not be more fortunate having a mother like you.

While most people might consider it an insult if someone said, “You are just like your mother.” Not Me. I would take that statement as one of the highest of compliments.

I never thought we would have this kind of relationship. Did you? The kind of relationship we can count on. The kind of relationship we can trust. The kind of relationship we both always wanted but didn’t know how to achieve.

It has taken plenty of hardship and our share of heartache to get here. It was quite an exhausting road, filled with devastating unexpected turns, yet, well worth the outcome. It makes my heart sing to know that we have finally arrived! Here. In This Place. TOGETHER.

One last thing. I know I have dedicated this song to you in the past, but this year, it just seems to have a bigger meaning.

Why? Because…

I really am “Everything I Am – Because You Loved Me.”

For all those times you stood by me
For all the truth that you made me see
For all the joy you brought to my life
For all the wrong that you made right
For every dream you made come true
For all the love I found in you
I’ll be forever thankful baby
You’re the one who held me up
Never let me fall
You’re the one who saw me through through it all

You were my strength when I was weak
You were my voice when I couldn’t speak
You were my eyes when I couldn’t see
You saw the best there was in me
Lifted me up when I couldn’t reach
You gave me faith ‘coz you believed
I’m everything I am
Because you loved me

You gave me wings and made me fly
You touched my hand I could touch the sky
I lost my faith, you gave it back to me
You said no star was out of reach
You stood by me and I stood tall
I had your love I had it all
I’m grateful for each day you gave me
Maybe I don’t know that much
But I know this much is true
I was blessed because I was loved by you

You were my strength when I was weak
You were my voice when I couldn’t speak
You were my eyes when I couldn’t see
You saw the best there was in me
Lifted me up when I couldn’t reach
You gave me faith ‘coz you believed
I’m everything I am
Because you loved me

You were always there for me
The tender wind that carried me
A light in the dark shining your love into my life
You’ve been my inspiration
Through the lies you were the truth
My world is a better place because of you

You were my strength when I was weak
You were my voice when I couldn’t speak
You were my eyes when I couldn’t see
You saw the best there was in me
Lifted me up when I couldn’t reach
You gave me faith ‘coz you believed
I’m everything I am
Because you loved me

* * * Happy 60^th Birthday Mommy * * *

With love from your daughter,

Meleah Rebeccah Hawthorne