Happy Mother's Day

One of my favorite quotes is one by Abraham Lincoln:
All I am, I owe to my angel mother.

I think that is lovely and would like to think my children may remember me fondly. I don't think any of them will call me an angel, but I'll take what I can get. I had a weird mother-daughter relationship because of my mom's emotional instability, but she loved me and did her best and for that I'm thankful.

She taught me important lessons about standing up for myself, being aggressive when the situation called for it and going for what I wanted. She taught me not to talk with my mouth full, to treat others as I would like to be treated and to use good manners overall.

Unfortunately, I learned about depression and how mental illness has a trickle down effect on everyone around it. In time, I have learned not to be angry or hurt about the things she did. I've learned a greater lesson. I learned about forgiveness and love. Even in the bad times, I knew she loved me and almost everything she did demonstrated that. I consider myself pretty lucky.

I also learned about giving, charity and volunteerism from my mom. I think those are some of the greatest influences she could have had on me. Just wish I got her long legs, too. Oh well.

Happy Mother's Day!