As most of you know, "home" to me is Sioux Falls SD. As we were traveling up 35W today towards Mpls, we past a truck with an insignia that said they, too, were from Sioux Falls SD. Immediately, I felt a connection to this trucker, a complete stranger, merely because we were from the same town.
This made me ponder: What is "home"????
Of course, it's different things to different people. When I tried, during this car ride, to piece together the framework, the various networks, that make me warm up at the thought of home, I came to one conclusion. Mom is home....
No one else embarks on a bitter cold, snowy driveway with arms extended to welcome you home like Mom. No one else in the world is as excited to see you've arrived safely like your Mom.
No matter how quirky or forgetful or downright goofy she can be, she's my soft place to fall. We quickly became friends once I moved on to college and marriage soon thereafter, but up until then, we always struggled. Our relationship was a difficult one. Like so many adult children, I realize now how good her intentions were and the reasons behind the lessons she tried to teach. Now, the single thread that really binds us, the common ground we share, is motherhood.
I remember bringing Logan home for the first time. The love I felt for him was unlike anything I've felt before--truly overwhelming. For the first time, I understood why mother bears attacked anything that came close to her cubs regardless of how harmless the threat may be. I asked my mom once, "Why didn't you tell me it was this good?" Of course, she said "words couldn't express it. You must experience it." She's right, of course. And I realized then and there that I wasn't the only one fighting for my young. My mom was fighting just as vehemently. To this day, she's their biggest cheerleader.
Tomorrow is my mom's birthday. She turns 51. I just wanted to tell her how much she's meant to me. She's a beautiful person--inside and out. And if you know her, this isn't news to you, but I wanted her to know how much I'm thinking of her and wishing we were together on her special day.
Happy Birthday Mom!!!
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