Birthday Party Surprise

Yesterday was a  great day.  We not only managed to throw a Birthday Party for my mom, but we managed to keep it a surprise from her.  My sister and I had been planning it for a couple of months and a lot of people knew about it, but she never did find out.  At one point, her boss mentioned something to her, and when she asked me about it, I mumbled something about maybe they were planning a surprise lunch or something... it worked and she just completely forgot about it.  All the way into the building and room where we had, she never figured it out.

The look on her face when she walked in to the Happy Birthday yells was priceless.  I will never forget the big smile on her face.  She has not had a great year and she's not ever had a party, so we decided that turning 67 should be a big deal for her.  And we made it a big deal.  We played games that were centered around her, the table decorations were pictures of her throughout her life, and her gift from us kids was a digital photo frame that has over 500 pictures on it of her life - from her baby pictures all the way up to my nephew's baby pictures.  I included some travel pictures of some great trips we've taken, as well.  She'll be able to take this frame to work and look at her life.

My mom has not had an easy life.  Two marriages to abusive men and a major struggle to put her life back together again more than once.  Her children have disappointed her on more occasions than I can count, but she's never stopped being there for us.  And that goes for her grandsons as well.  Her family is what matters to her and she would give us the shirt off her back.  Things have never come easy for her and we've not always appreciated her sacrifices, either.  But I hope that last night showed her, in a small way, what she means to us.

It's amazing - our relationship with our mothers.  Almost every woman I've ever spoken to on this subject cringes before talking about difficult relationships and how a conversation with mom can always make you revert back to being a rebellious teenager again.  There are very few women I've talked to that have a great and close relationship with their mother; those that do, I envy.

But then again, nothing that I've ever truly valued has come easily.  It's always been difficult, heartbreaking and challenging.  And that's why I treasure those things the most.  Maybe it's time to let me mom know how much I value her...