honor her

Dear Mom,

Ready or not, the minutes are ticking... I just got off the phone, it's twenty after one, and your birthday is well in progress. Before crashing for the night, I just wanted to sit down and write you a quick note. Let you know...I love you, I miss you, I think about you, I remember you, I am shaped by you, I admire you, I am inspired by you, I talk about you, I pray for you, and I love you. From halfway across the country, there is so much of you that still is and always will be a necessary part of me... Remember Lev's painting (?); the mother, strangled in distortion, between father and son? Thank you for how foreign that painting is in my life! If I were to repaint, while still distorted, the distortion would be far different. Yours would be a vibrant, innocent, beautiful, caring, determined, feminine, adventurous, peaceful, industrious, joyful, content, and dangerous…distortion. It would be a contrast symbolic of all that is perfect and beautiful in your life... Instead of hanging, strangled, between father and son, you would be mediator, servant, lover, student, wife, and mother. The only distortion would be my attempt of portraying the countless characteristics describing why I miss you so much right now.

Mom, seriously! I have twelve brothers and sisters...you have no favorites...and yet still...I feel like an only child. Where is it you find the time to care that much? I love our conversations. Remember that road trip...especially the Chicago section...? It was only one of the millions of times where I came away inspired and awed by you. For now and always...Mother...I will love and respect you. I will rise up and call you blessed.

I want to find a girl just like you! Err...you know what I mean.... All this is to say, I hope you have a wonderful birthday and feel appreciated. I will be calling you.

Sincerely,

Your Son