I’ve got a great family. I really do. In fact, just the other day I found myself telling a customer at work how blessed I feel to have such great parents and brothers. And, while my whole family is pretty awesome, I feel like my mom deserves some special attention. After all, it is Mother’s Day weekend. 

Mothers, I think, are the only people who, when they look at you, see all of you. They don’t just see you in that particular moment, but they see your entirety. They see you not just as a child, or as an adult, but rather at every age. I think they see your potential, they see your weaknesses, your strengths, your achievements, and your shortcomings. Mother’s are special kinds of humans. And my mother is a special kind of mother.

My mom didn’t have it easy. She raised three boys – all very close in age. (Not all by herself. I’ve got a great father too; but this is about my momma.) That meant three car seats crammed into the backseat of my parents’ Nissan Sentra. That meant three toddlers learning to crawl, walk, and pee in the toilet at about the same time. That meant three sets of after-school activities. That meant three teenage boys living in her house at the same time. (Yuck!) That meant three boys dealing with love and heartbreak, with homework, with big life decisions, and with decisions that just seemed to us like big life decisions. ALL AT THE SAME TIME! You see, my mom really is special.

But, she’s not just special because she survived parenthood. She’s special to me because she didn’t just survive, she grew. (Not physically, of course. My mom is in great shape, and takes very good care of herself.) I mean, she grew as a person, as a wife, as a mom, as a Christian. She’s never stopped learning. She’s never stopped trying to be better, to do better. And, I think that’s just about the best thing a mom can do for her sons – model a life of constant improvement.

Now, my mom isn’t perfect. (She won’t be offended that I’ve said this. She’d probably be the first to admit it.) And, there are things that I disagree with my mom about. There are some decisions that she made that I look back on and think, “What were you thinking?” But, there are a lot more times when I reflect on my mom’s decisions that I think, “Thank God that she had the courage to make that decision.”, or “Now I see why she did it that way.”

My mom has gone through some pretty crappy stuff. (And, I put her through a lot of it.) But, she never gives up. She never allows her circumstances to determine her attitude. In fact, she has allowed some of the hardest times in her life to shape her ministry. That’s a pretty cool thing, in my opinion.

So, Mom, on this Mother’s Day, I hope you know how much you’re loved. I hope you can look back on the days of our early childhood with joy, and I hope that I and my brothers make you proud in our adulthood. I want you to know that I appreciate all of your hard work. I want you to know that I recognize the sacrifices that you’ve made for me and for our family. I also want you to know that I respect you. We may not always agree on everything, but thank you for sharing your opinions with me in love. I’m still learning a lot from you. I’m still watching you. And I’m proud of what I see. I hope you know that.

Love Your (favorite) Son,

-Eric