Top 5 Ways You Inspire Me, Mom
My Mom & I getting ready for my wedding. Photo by the immensely talented Kate Leigh.
Dear Mom,
When sending out my inspiration plea to friends and family, I got a myriad of answers back, and I returned the favor to them all. The one that I let sit there, not responding to….?
Yours.
I know you haven’t thought about it. It didn’t register that I promised to send back to everyone the ways they inspire me, and yet your Inbox remained empty. When it comes to you & your children, it’s about giving and never receiving.
I think that, at the time, I knew it would take me hours to cover all the ways you inspire me. I also had an inkling that I’d get fairly emotional while writing it, since you mean so much to me and yet ….I don’t really tell you other than ending our visits and calls with an “I love you.”
Well, Mom, I wanted to take this mother’s day and tell you – and the world at large (aka my beautiful readers) the Top 5 Ways You Inspire Me. Of course I could add 100 more, but I’d be afraid I’d be sobbing for hours!
In no particular order:
My Mom & my stepfather at my wedding. Photo by the crazy talented Kate Leigh.
5. You love your life. This sounds silly at face value, but you’re just so happy where you are – no more, no less – that it’s something I try to emulate every day. You’re the poster girl of the South Shore. Your 10-year relationship is ridiculously strong. Your job isn’t a means to a paycheck, but something you thrive at and enjoy. You surround yourself with your family and friends you consider your family. This isn’t to say that you’re never upset or sad – it just never seems to get in the way of your overall happiness.
4. You instilled in me such self-confidence and self-worth, I’m surprised that my feet are still on the ground. Mom, you always had me believing that I could do anything I wanted to do, but when I faltered you were always there to hold my hand. I’ll never forgot the time I came home right before graduating NYU, privately doubting myself as to whether I could really “do this” – be a working actress. Out of nowhere, you turned to me in the car and said, “If you don’t want to do this, nobody will be upset with you. You won’t be a failure. We’ll love you and support you no matter what you want to do.” Somehow, that allowed me to put one foot in front of the other and pound the pavement, following my dream. It also stayed with me when I decided once and for all that I was going to stray from that path and find a new one to travel down. I always knew that you’d be proud of me no matter what, and it allowed me to find my happiness.
3. You speak up when something’s wrong & make sure that it gets made right. It was you who would also help me approach my friends when I was mad or sad or feeling bad, and I came away from it learning major life lessons before I hit double digits. I know that I do that less as an adult, and I’m trying to change that because I know how much happier and healthier I am as a result of it, no matter how much I’m hurt at the time. I want to always be able to stand up for myself and those I love.
Me, my brother and my Mom, circa 1982 or so.
2. You’ve created your own family. Growing up, it never occurred to me how small a clan our blood relatives were. When 85% of them packed up and moved down to Florida, I hardly noticed. Don’t get me wrong – I loved and missed them, but there were dozens of other people to spend Passover with! And celebrate Mother’s Day! And watch fireworks with on the 4th! You gave true meaning to the words “family friends”, and created our own clan of brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles and cousins. I’ve never felt at a loss to be around those that know and love me, no matter how far our “family” lived.
1. You live by your values. Because your #1 value is your family, that’s been instilled in me, too. But what I see from that, overall, is the fact that you would jump in front of a moving bullet if it meant that it spared your husband or your children. By living by your values, you’ve done more than say, “Family comes first” – you lived it. It’s taught me, more than anything, to stand by my values, whatever they may be on any given day. It’s allowed me to live my passion, and wait for the right man to come along (one that deserves to be with me and my wonderfully nutty family!), and choose to surround myself with those that all come bearing sunshine and positivity. I didn’t have to waver on any of those things, all because you’ve been my example my whole life.
I love you so much Mom – this Mother’s Day and every day in between!
Love, Michelle
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