Happy Mother's Day!

(Hey Mom and Gina! Just a warning that you might need a tissue . . . or a box of them . . . to read this. I know this because I know you both well but also because I'm crying, and I just wrote the first sentence and stuck in the first picture. And if I'm crying, I know you are, too. Love you!)

There are a number of incredible women in my life. I count it one of the greatest blessings to have been calling one of them "Mom" for the past 26 years.

My mom is a source of constant inspiration and entertainment. She is a talented, accomplished, confident, incredible woman who isn't afraid to ask anyone for anything . . . so long as it's for someone else. Over the years, we've taken more trips together than I can count, singing our way to North Carolina or Georgia or Alabama, covering such classics as "Rubbernecking" and "Merge to the Right." (Don't worry if you don't recognize them. They don't get much radio play.) We can laugh or cry at the drop of a hat, and she gives the best hugs in the world. She has taught me so much, more than I realize probably, but here are a few of my favorites:

*Costumes make life so much more fun. (Once, she arrived at my school while dressed as a leprechaun. As a seventh grader, I was mortified. As a 26-year-old, I suspect when I have a 12-year-old, this scene may be repeated. Maybe not a leprechaun, though . . .)

As Drusilla and Queen Elsa in Cinderella.
January 2012

During our October 2011 cruise to Bermuda.

At Stages for a fitting for my Viennese Winter Ball Gown and stilt pants.
January 2012

*Making up words is okay as long as you explain yourself. And if you want to put the storage shed in the truck, that's quite all right.

*Your brother will always be there for you, even if he's a goober.

*Your family are the most important people. They love you no matter what. (This is true of our family, strange as we all are.)

*Love. My mom has the biggest heart of everyone I know. I say this confidently because I've seen her share her love with everyone she meets.

Clearly, my mother is amazing and beautiful and spectacular and all sorts of adjectives. She's also my best friend, and I am so grateful that God made her my mother.

Of course, it wouldn't be a proper Mother's Day celebration without sharing the other mothers in my life.

When I went away to college, I made a dear friend whose family took me in as one of their own. I lived with them one summer and spent many a happy weekend lazing around the goat farm. And now I get to call this lovely lady my other mother:

With Gina at Ilana's wedding.
February 2012 / Winfield, AL

Then, there are my two golden grandmas, Beverly and Donna, who have been the absolute best grandmas a girl could imagine. They've taught me to crochet and cross stitch and cook and been generally doting as grandmas tend to do. Last year, we went on a cruise together. Now in their seventies, they're as lively as ever.

With Gram (Beverly) at dinner theatre in Baltimore, MD.

On the cruise with Grandma (Donna) en route to Bermuda.

Happy Mother's Day to my many marvelous mothers! Your love, encouragement, and inspiration have made me the woman I am today. Thank you for sharing yourselves with me. I love you!