Thank you, Mom, for All of the Little Things

My mom's birthday was yesterday and I was thinking about all the things she does, and has done, for me.  As we get older and have responsibilities and kids of our own, I think it becomes so much clearer how much our parents sacrifice for us.  I have tried to be pretty good about thanking my mom for all of the big things, but then I got to thinking about all of the little things that she did, the things that no one thanks you for. So, Mom, thank you for all of things that I never thanked you for.

 Thank you for listening to my unending stories about friends, boys, teacher, clothes, work, and everything else under the sun.  With 4 girls, the amount of talking in our house was insane, but you have always listened and cared. Well that, or at least faked it really well!

Thank you for caring about things that are important to me.  My interests and yours have a great deal of similarities, but they also vary widely in some case. Some of the things that I share with you, I am sure are of no interest to you, but you always show interest and support me.

Thank you for doing endless amounts of laundry. Between schools clothes, play clothes, dance clothes, sport uniforms and all of the clothes that just ended up on the floor after we changed clothes 5 times, I cannot imagine how much laundry 4 girls created. Thank you.

Thank you for dealing with my meaningless tears, often with compassion. I know it is a mom's job to help her child when they are genuinely hurt, physically or emotionally, but I am pretty sure that I racked up more tears for nothing in the first 16 years of my life than I did tears that were actually warranted. While I know you got frustrated and often reminded me that I might run out of tears, you did not show the amount of frustration that I am sure you felt.

Thank you for staying up late for our 11:20 pm chats. I am not sure why important things could not come up at a reasonable time in high school, but thank you. Thank dad for this one, also. He missed so many sports reports.

Thank you for letting me lay on you at night when we watched TV. I know that as the baby, you probably had more tolerance for my need to cuddle because your cuddle time was coming to an end, but I also know that at the end of a long day, sometimes you just want to sit by yourself. However, you always let me lay across your lap when I woke up, after dinner or to watch TV.

Thank you for letting me grow. As I watch the older nieces and nephews, I can see how you would want to hold your children back to protect them. I can see how you may want to delay working, getting a driver's license, traveling abroad or going to college, but you didn't. You showed excitement and support and you never made me feel guilty for doing those things.

Thank you for understanding my need to keep the parts of meal separate.  Our family may have teased, but you always understood, or at least respected it. Even when you made a plate to bring up to play practice you kept things separate. A lot of parents would have made me get over it, but not you.

Thank you for driving all over the place for our schedules. So many times that I am in the car, I think of all of the things that I could be doing if I was at home. I am sure you thought the same thing as you drove to and from the dance studio but, yet, you did it.

Thank you for putting a full dinner on the table every night of the week. Dad gets a lot of credit for cooking, now, because he pitches in so much more in the last 20 years or so, but I know that for the first 20-30, you were the one that decided what to cook and got it on the table most of the time. I am now realizing that is no easy task.

I know this list just touches the tip of the iceberg, but I hope it represents my deep gratitude to you. I am thank full for all of the big things, but I am also thankful for all of the little things you did every day that added up over time. I'm thankful for all of the thankless tasks. I love you and am so blessed to have you.