Being A Mom

It was Mother's Day yesterday and I had a lovely day. The boys spent the day at home and we hung out in the backyard and just chatted and shared stories. 

My eldest made me breakfast in the morning and then we went for a walk with the dog. My youngest did the grocery shopping with hubby and I absolutely loathe grocery shopping so that was amazing!!  

Being a mom has been the greatest gift I could have ever received. I love my boys more than anything in this world and cannot imagine a day without them. I hope and pray for the day that they have families of their own and I can be a grandma to babies. 

Being a mom has not always been easy though. Growing up my boys were easy and I was so thankful for that. If anyone had warned me before I had kids, that when they hurt, you hurt 10x as much, I wouldn't have believed them. If they told me that when they leave in their car or with their friends, there is a pit in my stomach that worries about them until they are back home safely under my roof, I would have thought they were crazy.  Knowing that I cannot do everything for them, to make life easier and that they have to learn to succeed and fail on their own, is very hard to do. 

Although my boys are both just starting their adult lives I hope I have given them the tools to function on their own and be good humans. I hope I have taught them the following:

• respect everyone
• it's ok to not always win (succeed) 
• successes and failures in life are just lessons
• keep close to family 
• appreciate what you have and not what you don't have
• never compare your life to someone else's
• you never know what someone else is going through so it's not fair to judge them
• make good choices 

 My mom died when I was young - only 24, but every single day of my life I try my best to do and act the way that she expected me to. 

If I'm a fraction of the mom that she was to me, I think I'm doing a pretty good job.