Mother, I Love You. Mother, I Do.

This week, I am thankful for my mother.  I have had several experiences and moments this week that have shown me first of all how much I miss my mother, and secondly how grateful I am to have her.

Although there wasn't really anything that blatantly said "this week should be about your mom," there was just a lot of little things that made me think of her.  I am so thankful that I have a mother who is not just my mom, but also my friend.  I greatly enjoy being able to call and converse with her about day to day things without feeling that I will be reprimanded or judged by what I tell her.   What a blessing to know that I can trust her with my deepest secrets and littlest feelings.

I am so blessed to have a mother who expressed her love for me.  I am thankful that she would hold my hand and give me the "I love you" sign from across the room.  Those little things really helped me know that my mother loved me with all her heart.  My mom had 8 children; there's not a lot of time in the day to get all the work done, everyone taken care of, and then have any extra time to make anyone feel special, but my mother always did it.  I never had a day that I didn't think that my mom loved me.  I was just as special to her as anyone else.  What a blessing.

I am so thankful for all the work and effort that she put in for me.  There are so many lessons that I learned from her throughout the years, and I only plan on continuing to learn from her.  I can't even count the times that I have called her for advice or direction.  I am so grateful for a mother who cooked and taught us to love to cook.  I may not be as wonderful a chef as she is, but at least I have a vague idea of what I'm doing with a measuring cup!

On top of it all, I am so eternally grateful to have a mother who is strong in the gospel.  It is so wonderful to be able to lean on her when I need strength.  I'm thankful for the many lessons and the patient hours she spent trying to teach all of us kids about the gospel of Jesus Christ.  Each of those lessons are infinitely and increasingly valuable to me as I grow older.   What a strength and an example she has been to me for so long.

Thank you mom for all that you do!  I love you a whole big monkey Michelle bunch, and that's the biggest!