Happy Mother's Day Mom!

Me, Mama and my sister Sharon

It couldn't have been easy as a twenty-one year old newlywed to pack up and move from Georgia to New Mexico, away from your family and friends, to make a new life, especially one where the Air Force dictated where you would live.

It couldn't have been easy, giving birth a little over nine months later, with no family present.  I can't even imagine what I would have done if you hadn't been with me for the births of my children.

It couldn't have been easy, pulling up roots every few years and moving to a new place and still being far away from family.

It couldn't have been easy to be at home with two little girls while your beloved was away defending our country; in harm's way, with little or no communication.  And I know it wasn't easy to receive that phone call, letting you know that there had been an "incident" involving his flight crew.  They couldn't tell you who the survivors were, or if indeed anyone survived.  I can't imagine the waiting until you knew something for certain.

It couldn't have been easy raising a rebellious teenager, who wanted to do things her way.

I know it wasn't easy.  And life can be messy sometimes.  But you handled it with God, and with grace.  And you were such an example of what it means to be a Christian mother and a strong woman.  You taught me that a relationship with Christ, prayer and Scripture are the most important things in life.

Thank you for loving me always, even when I was difficult to love.  Thank you for showing me what it means to be a Christian by example.  Thank you for teaching me how to be a wife and mother.

I love you Mama,