In memory

My mother passed away last Friday. She had been fighting a battle with breast cancer for over three years and finally reached a point where even she couldn't fight back any longer.

I knew when she was diagnosed that she was eventually going to die from this cancer. She was too far along when it was discovered for there to ever really be a chance at remission. But she was such a fighter, and such an optimist, that I truly think she always believed that she would beat it. I am thankful that she lived long enough to see her grandson be born, and to see pictures and video of the birth, even if I never got to place him in her arms.

I didn't always like my Mom growing up, but I think that is pretty normal. Once I got older, I came to discover just how much she sacrificed and how good a Mom I actually had. She taught me kindness, forgiveness, responsibility and honesty. I came to realize that those very lessons that made me not like her when I was young were the very things that made me who I am today. It is a debt I can never repay. I am thankful that I got a chance to tell her how much she meant to me before she was taken away.

I love you Mom. You will always be missed. Thank you for everything you did for me, and goodbye.