Golfing a few winters ago when we had no snow.

It wouldn’t be Mother’s Day if I didn’t take a moment to share with you how amazing my mom is. But, before I get to that, I have to share a story with you. I was looking out my window this morning, from which I can see the parking lot of the golf course. As I was looking out, I saw an older man and woman loading their golf clubs onto their cart. At first I thought, “How cute. He’s taking his wife golfing for Mother’s Day.” Then I noticed something about this man that filled my heart with inspiration. He only had a left arm. I began to watch him more intently as he took care in loading his bag onto the cart, putting his golf glove onto the only hand he had, closing the back hatch to the car, locking it, and then driving the cart to the starting area. I was overcome with emotion as I watched this entire orchestrated process. Long after he left, I found myself continuing to look out the window. I imagined the struggles of his every day life, if he was born that way or lost his arm in an accident, and how in the world he swings a club with one left arm. I struggle with two perfectly good arms! I wish I could have joined them for 18 holes to witness his strength and determination in action.

It is times like this that I realize just how lucky I am. Thank God I have never had a disease, serious illness, or anything worse than two broken wrists from snowboarding (not at the same time, thankfully). There are so many people in this world that are faced with adversity, yet still make the best of every minute they have. The person in my life who inspires me every single day is my mother. She is the prime example of how to make lemonade out of lemons. The past two years have been a roller coaster of diagnoses, chemo, radiation, drugs, tests, and surgery.  Through all of it, she has had the most amazing attitude, been an image of pure strength, and handled the whole thing with more grace than anyone could. Not only has my mom taught me a lot in these past two years, but throughout my whole life. It is hard to verbalize everything she has taught me, because that is practically everything I know, but here are the top ten that come to mind:

1. Cook with your heart.
2. Prepare a green salad AND a vegetable with every dinner.
3. Keep your head down and eye on the golf ball!
4. Buy fresh cut flowers for the house, just “because.”
5. Finish every dinner with something sweet.
6. Garden and have houseplants for a nicer home.
7. Life is more fun when you have dogs.
8. Appreciate nature, get out in the sun, and explore the outdoors.
9. Fight the good fight with grace and strength.
10. Life is not about waiting for the storm to pass, it is about learning to dance in the rain.

I am so lucky to have the mom that I do, and I know that you probably feel the same way about your mom, too. Think about some of the things your mom has taught you.

Happy Mom’s Day!