As Mother's Day approaches, I find myself missing my mom so much lately and in need of recognizing all the awesome moms and grandmothers out there.  My mom died just over 3 years ago at the young age of 75.  I miss our daily chats on the phone and also her special relationship that she had with my kids.  It was so nice that she was able to be part of their young lives.

As a grown woman, I was still way too young to lose my mom.   My children were too young to lose their grandmother.  There is never a good age to lose a loved one.  Still, I was so lucky to have my mom close by for so long so that together, we could make lasting memories for me and for my children.  I'll never lose that.

It's so easy to take our moms for granted as we're growing up.  I know I did.  It's not until we have children of our own that we begin to realize that our moms really DID have a clue.  In fact, I have turned into my mom when it comes to raising children.  I also have a clue but my middle school aged children just don't know it yet.

Being a mom is THE hardest thing that I've ever experienced. Delivery was a breeze compared to actually trying to raise a child.   A mom is always "on".  We sleep with one eye open and both ears alert.  We can't help but worry about our kids - is he sleeping enough? is she eating enough? is he pooping enough? is she studying enough? is he happy enough? does he have clean underwear? does he really need an ipod touch? will she go to college? will he be successful? what if I die before my child? what if something happens to my child?  The worries are endless! 

Okay, so we worry, we love our children, we tend to their every need but sometimes - just sometimes, we do understand why some species eat their young.  For any children out there reading this, don't worry; we really won't eat you....yet.  Be good to your moms.  They really do love and care about you even though they may hear "occasionally" that you hate them and they are the meanest parent in the world.  Many of us said the same thing to our parents.  We really do know that it can be tough growing up.  We had to do it, too.

Here is my photo tribute to all you wonderful moms and grandmothers out there. Enjoy your special day!  What am I doing on Mother's Day? We're taking my mom-in-law out to eat.  I'm so lucky that I still have my awesome mother-in-law so for me, it's really her day. I bought my kids socks and underwear.  That's what mothers do.













These last two photos were taken of my mom with my kids just 4 days before she died at home of lung cancer.  She was still so happy to have her family around her right up until the end.  As I said before, my mom was just 75 years old.  Enjoy your mom and grandmother while you have them.  We really miss my mom and wish we could be spending Mother's Day with her as well.

Happy Mother's Day everyone!!

Mary Ann