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Dear Q Friends,

I am one of the very lucky ones who has a mother who is truly a gift from heaven above. My husband, half-jokingly, calls her "a saint". She would be the first to disagree.

The older I get, the more I am amazed at how much I've become like my mom. When I was younger, everyone always remarked about how much I was like my dad....in both personality and resemblance. As much as I adore my mother, I really never thought I was very much like her. My younger sister, Jennifer, definitely always LOOKED much more like her than I did. In personality, I was, and am vibrant and outspoken, a leader, very driven to do well, and be successful....just like my dad. I also love cars, pets, taking care of the lawn, baseball, buying presents for those I love, and am the proverbial "life of the party"...like my dad.

But now that I am older, something peculiar has gradually happened to me, without my even noticing. I have become much more like  my mom. I now see we have the same smile, and the same laugh. (Even though I still have dad's brown eyes and command of a room). But I've become more gentle and kind, patient and helpful, emotional and happy to be in the background... sometimes.....just like my mom. And I love that. Because if I could be even a "smidgeon" of the remarkable person my mother is, I would be honored. She had taught me the gentleness in life, to have a huge heart, to notice the little things of beauty along the way. (Although I STILL cannot make her apple pie or spaghetti sauce HALF as well as she, no matter how hard I try!) I have come to realize that my mother is every bit as strong and outgoing and a leader as my father...sometimes more.... but she was always very subtle about it.

She was and is exceptional and has raised 6 exceptional children, all very different from each other, but all a credit to her and to my dad.

I am very lucky to have two wonderful parents, who both have had a huge positive influence on the woman I have become. I am so proud to be their daughter. I am so happy I am now,  so much like my mother. So this Mother's Day, I'm giving thanks for her.  Happy Mother's Day to everyone!! 

Love,
Carolyn XO