So I recently spent several days in Dallas, my hometown. I was there for my mom's birthday. Her actual birthday is today, but I wanted to come from the Washington, D.C. area to visit her at some point in late July or early August.
I'm thankful for my mom for so many reasons. My mom (who has no medical background) detected that I was having troubling breathing shortly after I was born. The doctors and nurses had missed this completely. Shortly after she realized there was a problem, I was put on a respirator; I was literally fighting for my life.
I had a really serious heart problem; I ended up having open-heart surgery as an infant. If my mom hadn't spoken up, I almost certainly would have died in my sleep. Right from the beginning, no one has fought for me or been there for me like my mom.
But rest assured, dear reader, there's much more to my mom. She's a person with this irrepressibly cheerful spirit. She's the person you'd want to be stuck in an elevator with because she has brains, yet she's unassuming about it. She's the person who spends a lot of time and energy trying to make the world a better place. I wish there were more people like her, really I do.
That's my mom.
Aside from saving my life, she has done so much more for me. Perhaps most importantly, she showed me the meaning of unconditional love -- the unbridled power of unconditional love.
When I come to visit my parents, my mom meets me at the airport -- sometimes acting as if I'd just come back from receiving a Nobel Peace Prize. In my teens I took my mom for granted. Now, in my early 30s, I'm smart enough to know how dumb I was back then. I'm smart enough to know how fortunate I am.
Also worth mentioning, I love books; books were always in the house when I was little. I love newspapers; those were always there too. I love learning; my parents encouraged that for as long as I can remember. But I've never spent enough time recognizing the people who made all of that possible. (And it's not my dad's birthday.)
My mom turns 63 today. There isn't a day that goes by -- and I really mean this -- when I don't think about how thankful I am for everything that she's done for me or understand how much she sacrificed for me. And, as much I used to pretend otherwise, I want her to be proud of me. I want her to believe that I'm living a life that truly matters.
I'm embarrassed that it took me this long to write this piece. I'm embarrassed that I didn't get smart sooner. We take people for granted because we think they'll always be there. They won't. We assume that things will never change because it's too hard to contemplate. They could. We think we have priorities and that those priorities make sense. They might not. We forget about the important stuff and we diminish ourselves in the process.
There really is no love like maternal love, dear reader. And there really is no one quite like my mom. This isn't new information. What's new is that I'm more aware of it than ever before -- and that I'm sure I'll never, ever forget.
Hey Ma, Happy Birthday! I love you.