SHE was the one.......

She was the one I could always count on for encouragement, acceptance, defending, loving, laughing, and so much more. She was the one I could never lie to because she always knew when I was . She was the one that spanked me the most. Then always said, "this is hurting me more than it's hurting you". She was the one that stayed up waiting for me to come home. Yep, I certainly couldn't get away with much! She was the one who wouldn't allow me to have my ears pierced. She set high standards for me! She was the one that loved me so much, she drove me every night to ballet classes, sewed my costumes, hung out until my rehearsals were over, which at times was very late. She was the one that cried with me when I was bullied. She was the one that told me "there's more than one fish in the ocean". She was the one that had the melt down at my wedding. She was the one that drove me to the emergency room when I jumped in front of a fire hydrant that was opened. She was the one that put me on an airplane when I was 21 to move to New York. She was the one that made sure I had flowers delivered to the house for EVERY performance I did, and she NEVER missed one! She was the one that sold REAL jewelry at Zales. She was the one who adored her family. She was the one who put her faith and trust in God and eloped with my dad when she was 17. AND crossed several state lines after they were married. She was the one who survived breast cancer for 34 years. She was the one who got her diabetes under control. She was the one with a huge heart. A giving heart. A loving heart. And a heart that was so big. And finally, it would be heart disease that took her away from me, too soon~For those that knew her well, knew her to be fun, friendly, hospitable, warm and welcoming. But what you may not have known is that mom, had many battles to fight. As a young adult she was diagnosed with epilepsy, survived breast cancer, which she had at age 25, developed diabetes in her 30's, high blood pressure in her 40's and congestive heart failure in her 50's. Three years were added to her life when a quad by-pass and an aortic valve replacement took place when she was 54. I spent a lot of time with her in those 3 years. I'm so grateful I moved home in 1989. I will never forget that May 23rd in 1997. Gary and I arrived at Wesley Medical Center's ER at the same time as my dad. We saw the ambulance arrive without the sirens. I watched the medics as they removed the gurney with mom on it, out of the ambulance. There she was. The one that made my heart sing. There she was. The one that always made me feel worthy. There she was. Lifeless. Silent. Gone. And there I was. "Mom?" "Mom?" There she was. unresponsive. There she was. After all protocol was exhausted, her breathing slowed, as Gary and Tim ushered her to heaven gently stroking her hands and whispering loving words. There she was. My mom. Not a day goes by that I don't thank God for giving me my mom. She taught me how to be a mom. And now I have 2 wonderful sons and I hear them say "She's the one". Happy Mother's Day Mom   ~  I love you