A love letter from your Mother

When I held each of you for the first time, the feeling was indescribable. My heart was filled with so much joy and excitement. It was like someone handed me missing pieces of my life that I didn't know were missing. I held you and rocked you for hours each day staring at your little faces and wondering what was in store for you. As you grew, you probably thought we had all the answers but most of the time we were winging it. Parenting is not easy. You made me laugh, cry, and yes, scream. It is about trial and error and no two children are alike which complicates things a little more. I know life in our home did not always seem fair (because you reminded me often) but I handled each situation the very best way I knew how. Both of you were amazing kids in so many ways. Being your parent has been one of the greatest gifts of my life. When I was in the midst of motherhood, it seemed as though I was embracing and appreciating each day when actually I was trying to keep my head above water or perhaps just survive. Now that you are grown, I look back and see things that seemed so important at the time were really just trivial. And those things I took for granted, those small things, were really the important things. I hope you can reflect on your childhood and teenage years and visualize a happy, loving home that instilled confidence, faith, compassion, honesty and a love for family and friends. I just want to end by saying I am sorry if I ever did or said anything to hurt or embarrass you. When I look at you today, you have exceeded all my expectations. I see you happy, loving and being loved, striving towards goals and accomplishing them. Wherever your life takes you, my heart will travel with you until eternity. As you continue to grow in your life and in your faith, please remember always how very much I Love You!

I love you,

Your Mother

Things I Want My Children to Know:

(author unknown)

If I knew it would be the last time that I'd see you fall asleep,

I would tuck you in more tightly and pray your soul to keep.

If I knew it would be the last time that I see you walk out the door,

I would give you a hug and kiss and call you back for one more.

If I knew it would be the last time I'd hear your voice lifted up in praise,

I would video tape each action and word so I could play them back day after day.
If I knew it would be the last time I could spare an extra minute or two,
to stop and say "I Love You" instead of assuming that you know I do.

If I knew it would be the last time, I would be there to share your day,

Well, I'm sure you'll have so many more so I can let this one slip away.

For surely there's always tomorrow to make up for an oversight,

and we always get a second chance to make everything alright.

There will always be another day to say "I Love You's",

And certainly there's another chance to say our "anything I can do's".

But just in case I might be wrong, and today is all I get,

I'd like to say how much I love you and hope we never forget.

Tomorrow is not promised to anyone, young or old alike,

And today may be the last chance you get to hold your loved one tight.

So, if you're waiting for tomorrow, why not do it today?

For if tomorrow never comes, you'll sure regret the day,

That you didn't take extra time for a smile, a hug or kiss,

And you were too busy to grant someone what turned out to be their last wish.

So hold your loved ones close today, whisper in their ear,

tell them how much you love them and that you'll always hold them dear.

Take the time to say "I'm sorry, "Please forgive me", "Thank you" or "It's okay".

And if tomorrow never comes, you'll have no regrets about today.