Happy Birthday Mom!

Thursday was my mom's 60th birthday. We kept it low key as per her wishes and only celebrated with pizza, cake and coffee. She had a wonderful time with her daughters and grand kids but...my sister and I decided that a ladies night was also in order. So today we went out to dinner and left the kids with their fathers (except Riley since I'm exclusively breast feeding). We all gathered together afterwards including aunts and cousins but, it has been a while since we've done the mother-daughters thing.

Years ago, spending quality time with my mom was not something I thought I'd look forward to. We didn't have the best relationship and our views on life were very different. Now that I'm older, wiser and have children of my own, it's something I cherish and very much appreciate. I love seeing her happy and right now her grand kids put the biggest smile on her face. It's priceless to see her eyes light up when all five kids are together at her house, playing and causing a ruckus.

I wouldn't be fooling anyone if I said my life was perfect. But when you have a mother who looks past your mistakes, forgives your stubbornness, and is always willing to put her life on hold in order to make yours a little easier, those rough patches don't seem so bad anymore. I'm lucky to have such a wonderful role model and I hope that one day my children will think of me in the same way.

I love you mom and happy birthday.