A few days ago, my mom had heart surgery. My mom did extremely well. She is the poster child for a successful heart surgery. While my dad and I were waiting for her surgery to begin and end, I started thinking about what my mothers heart means to me.
Yes, my mothers heart is a major organ that keeps her alive. But her heart goes way beyond that. We often say that someone has “heart.” This means that someone who has “heart” will never lose faith or strength. Someone with a “pure heart” is a person who is sincere and honest, living without evil intent. My mom is all these things and more. My mom spent her career as a civil servant, first as a scientist, then as the City Attorney. Beyond her career, she serves others. From my brother, Sean: "As her children, we witnessed her self sacrifice of meals, clothing, and shoes so that we may pursue the passions of our hearts. I witnessed this through my love of snowboarding, seeing mom limit her intakes to afford my lessons and lift tickets. She even let keep a puppy that I bred, realizing this was a life changing decision for her child, despite the extra expense and effort to herself." One of my favorite memories of my mother is when I was honorably discharged from the Air Force. My last duty station was at Langley AFB in Virginia. We packed up my little Nissan and took a very circular route back home to Colorado. We stopped in Pennsylvania, Indianapolis, Kansas City and other tour stops. It took at least a week to get back home (with the air conditioning quitting in the middle in Kansas in the middle of summer.) This time with my mom was critical in helping transform from military to civilian life. My mom is the third of nine children. As such, she learned from a very early age that God and family come first. My parents passed this on to my brother and me; the priority of God and family now permeates in another generation while my brother and I raise our own children with our spouses. (My parents are proud to have six grandchildren.) Parents have a duty and a responsibility to raise their children to love God and to follow His commandments. Together with my dad, my mom has fulfilled this responsibility. Grandma and Grandpa are more than happy to pass the faith onto their grandchildren. My mom has always been a pillar in the community. Be it in the City, her parish or her own family, others know that they can depend on my moms honesty, sincerity loyalty and heart. I am proud to call her my mom. This Mother’s Day, let us reflect on the love of our mothers while giving thanks to God for them. While we appreciate our mothers on Earth, let’s not forget about our mother in Heaven. Without Mary saying “yes” to the archangel and “yes” to God’s plans for her, we wouldn’t have Jesus. Mary is the epitome of having “heart.” I am beyond proud to say that my mom is every following Mary's steps and always says "yes" to God. Happy Mother's Day, Mom! Love, Erin and Sean Comments are closed.
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