I did not write the following post.  This is something sent to my wife by her eldest daughter in honor of Mother’s Day.  I am posting it because I feel that the sentiments expressed need to be shared.

“I had a wonderfully magical childhood, thanks to my beautiful, creative and supportive Mom.

I always felt loved, nurtured and often entertained by ever changing events in a household with a tumble of new siblings every few years, multiple pets and my Mother’s never waning endurance and artistic fortitude.

One of my earliest memories is of her singing, “You are my sunshine,  my only sunshine” while bathing me in the tub on Brookmead St., our home until I was about 9 years old.

I vividly remember sitting in my bedroom and watching her color the most amazing multi-colored skirt on a dancing woman that she had sketched.  She was using an easel and the skirt was full and flowing, alive with what seemed like every color in my 64-color box of crayons, one of my favorite possessions.

We were allowed to have kittens, which I loved dearly.  I remember hiding them in a box under my bed to protect them from my brothers.

We bought live chicks and ducks at Easter, and on at least one occasion bought a live hamster for my Dad’s birthday, something my Mother did not understand or approve of.

In 2nd grade I missed what must have been a week of school due to illness.  She gave me a ballet calendar, a sketch pad and a box of crayons.  I drew images from the calendar pages, which she took to school to prove to the teacher that I had talent, outside of my usual struggling academic grades.

I always got the dolls I wanted (even the coveted Barbie she preferred I didn’t).  We had an extensive costume box for play we loved, art supplies and projects for holiday decorations, classical books and records which engaged, entertained and secretly educated us for a foundation and appreciation of fine culture.

Mom was amazingly talented and self-sufficient – she sewed all our special occasion clothes, including every Back to School and Easter outfit.  She crafted incredibly detailed, matching square dancing costumes for herself and our Dad.  She created and colored her own hairstyles with every trend, and never left home without full make up.  She made the budget work, we never went without.  Accomplished daily  as a stay at home Mom with 4 kids under the age of 7.

I had the freedom to play, dream and create most anything imaginable.

I learned resilience and empathy from Mom’s example at an early age – two attributes which are my greatest strengths as an adult today,

I owe it all to a Mom who loved me, never giving up in difficult time, and always being there when I needed her most.”

In this busy, busy age, where the little day-to-day things our parents did to help make us the people we are, thoughts like the foregoing  too often remain unexpressed.  Although Mother’s Day, 2016 has gone by, it is never too late to include a little bit of Mother’s Day  into every day.

If you are reading this, thank your Mom.