Chris and I recently became first time kayak owners. This was a big moment for us-one we have been wishing for a very long time. We were so excited that we went straight to the lake on the first day we bought them.  On the way there we talked about the best place to put the kayaks into the water, and when we arrived we were shocked to find the dock had this kayak launch!

We just dropped the kayaks into the launch and used the paddles to pull ourselves out into the water. That boat launch gave us the exact amount of support to head out on our adventure, and when we needed to come back, the launch was there…ready, waiting to help us. It brought us back to land, safely, securely.

Aren’t moms like that? Moms are our docks with a built in launch. They give us the support that we need throughout our lives. They hold us up until we are ready to head out on our own adventure, but when we need to head back home they are there…ready, waiting to help us, to bring us back to their arms, safely, securely.

This is the last photo that was taken with my mom and me together before we lost her last June. She was my dock. She was tiny, but she had spunk. She had a smile that lit up a room. She loved flowers, birds, the ocean, her friends and her family.  Her heart was big and her love for everyone was strong. If you knew her you loved her. She was contagious.

Mom had a jewelry box that always sat on her dresser.  I loved looking through it when I was a child.  It held some of the things that she loved most, a cameo that belonged to my grandmother, a pecan shell that her uncle had carved, a birthstone ring from her teenage years…it also held a lock of hair from my first haircut, my baby teeth, a tiny piece of paper where she had written the words: “Cut with scissors by Cindy all by herself: age 3 years”…milestones. That’s what moms do. They keep your milestones locked up with their most prized possessions. They collect these tiny moments of your life, they nurture and protect them, they watch them grow, and when the time comes they drop you into that launch and send you off.

When I look around my home, my mother is there.  Her favorite picture is hanging in my office. It is bright, colorful, contagious…just like her. Her jewelry box is sitting on a shelf on my desk.  It reminds me of her constant and dependable love for us.

And on my shelf is my favorite photo of her.  It was a candid shot of her playing in the snow with Michael. He was two, it was his first snow and she was out there in it with him, teaching him how to build his first snowman-spunk and love. She adored those boys. She was the kind of Grandma that I hope to be some day: always loving, always teaching, spunky, contagious.

My dock is gone, but she is here in spirit. She gave me what I needed to be a dock for my boys. They too have launched on their own adventures, but I am still here ready, waiting if they ever need anything. Because we all know: you are never too old for some extra love from Mom.

Happy Mother’s Day!
xoxo

Cindy