A Card for Mom

Mother’s Day is quickly approaching and, if you’re like me, you may be starting to think about gift ideas for your own mother. I’ve always been a card person. I think I get it from my mom. I like to choose exactly the right card to express exactly how I’m feeling. And, since becoming a mother myself, I have found that I am more and more particular about choosing a Mother’s Day card for my own mother.

It wasn’t until I became a mother myself that I truly understood how much my mother loves my sisters and me. It wasn’t until I became a mother myself that I truly understood the emotional struggles mothers go through to make simple decisions about how they are going to allocate their time. It wasn’t until I became a mother myself that I truly understood the meaning of unconditional love.

When a daughter becomes a mother she sees her own mother in a brand new light. She understands the sacrifices her mother has made for her. She understands how much she hurt her mother when harsh words were exchanged in anger. She gains a newfound respect and admiration for her own mother as she reflects on the events of her childhood from a new perspective – a mother’s perspective. She understands the depths of a mother’s love.

Today as I stood in the card isle reading every Mother’s Day card in the stacks, painstakingly searching for the perfect card, I found myself wondering how I can ever pay back my mother for all the things she has done for me. I realized I can’t. It’s impossible. Then it dawned on me that that’s how it’s supposed to be – daughters can’t pay back their own mother for the years of selfless love and devotion she has shown, but they can pay it forward. They can pay it forward to their own children. And so, I shall.

I hope you like your card mom.