to my parents {day three}

Today’s blog post is one that I’m sure will come with a lot of emotion for me, but fortunately for me, it’s the good kind.  Today I’m looking at ways that I can be a more intentional daughter.

My original home is what most would call “broken”.  My parents divorced when I was seven years old after a tumultuous marriage.  And for the following 3 years, we were a happy little family of 4 ladies consisting of my mother and her three daughters.  I remember this time pretty vividly and while I can definitely say that times were tough for us, I can also say that we didn’t really notice.  My mom showed tremendous bravery in raising three little girls all on her own.

When I was eleven, my mom re-married.  My stepdad (who will from here on out be known simply as “Dad”) came into our lives and we were never the same.  It was hard for me, the oldest, at first because I wasn’t accustomed to having someone else be the center of mom’s attention.  But we all adjusted and quite quickly became a family.  Some of my greatest memories are from the days when we were all “little” and living at home.

Throughout my early 20s I wandered far away from family and far outside the will of God.  I made some mistakes that I wish I could change and some that I would do all over again.  But the biggest regret I have is distancing myself from my family.  I chose to walk away from them when, in reality, I needed them more than anything this world could have provided.

Nowadays, you couldn’t pry us apart if you tried.  We are a close-knit family that relies heavily on each other in good times and in bad.  We’ve been through a lot as a little group….and I for one can say that I wouldn’t be the person I am today if it weren’t for my people.

The Bible tells us to “honor your father and mother”.  Well, I haven’t always done an impressive job in that area, but I hope that my mom and dad know that I love them.  I hope that I will have many more opportunities in the future to laugh with them and cry with them.

Above all, I wanted to reflect on the relationship that I have with my mom.  After all that we’ve been through, she is by far my absolute best friend.  If you had dared to suggest to 16 year old me that this could be possible, I would have laughed and never believed it.  But the one thing I can honestly say is that my mom never let a day pass without telling us how much she loved us.  And I, for one, think that’s something that our children NEED from us.  Unconditional love.

So, Mom, thank you for teaching me how to be a mom, loving me through all of my screw-ups, and for being the bestest friend a daughter could ask for.  I love you!

Girls Lunch