Happy Mother's Day

What's your earliest memory of your mom? Strangely, I don't recall seeing mom's face in my memories. I remember going to bed with the summer sun still not set and the morning doves still cooing. Wandering through our neighbor's flower beds because she had strawberries hidden in there somewhere. Getting into trouble because I think I picked a fight with the preschool teacher's daughter.

What I do remember about mom is her presence. I feel her in the the memory of laying in bed that summer evening, watching me hunt for strawberries and standing up for me to the preschool teacher. I remember the feeling of cuddling with mom, of her playing with my hair, of car rides and jazzercise classes. All times where I don't recall seeing her, I can just feel her there.

It's a mother's presence. You can feel it in this video too.

I visited with Jeni and we talked a bit about her own mom. What I enjoy most about this story is the influence Jeni's mom had over one of the biggest decisions Jeni has made yet. Having a "bun in the oven" for 9+ months sure does change our minds about things. It's probably also why I still tear up when I watch this, even after seeing it a hundred times.

Without further ado, thanks so much to everyone who submitted stories for my Mother's Day project! It was one of those ideas that just popped into mind, and with your help I was able to do it. Here is our final piece. I hope it moves you like it does me.

Ode to Your Mother

It's going to be my very first Mother's Day this year. So, "Happy early Mother's Day!" to all you mothers out there.

You are to be admired. Really. The patience you have is outstanding, and the wisdom to know when that patience has reached its limit is a kind of wisdom reserved for Solomon himself.

I've been distracted thinking about my own mom as May 12th gets ready to make its appearance. Mom is exactly who I want to be when I grow up: independent, hard-working, street smart, numbers smart, lioness. I became very grateful, even for the strict curfews and making me speak for myself. All this retrospective thinking about my own mom hatched a fresh idea last night.

I want to sit down with one of you young mothers to talk about your own mom. We'll create a short video message you can share with her for Mother's Day. There's a twist in the plot, sure to pull at her heartstrings, but that's a secret kept between you and me for now. I'll let you know what it is when we talk more about your short film.



Interested? Here's all you have to do:
1. Comment below about the most important thing you've learned from your mom now that you're a mother yourself
2. Be willing to visit with me to film for an hour (I'll travel up to 3.5 hours outside of Columbus, Ohio).
3. Be a mom of a child 3-years old or younger (if you have more than one child, the others can be older but the youngest must be 3 or younger)
4. Be available to have me visit sometime during the dates of May 3rd-May 9th
5. Be willing to let me share your touching ode online

Submissions will be accepted until 11:59pm EDT Sunday, April 28th, 2013.
Only one entry per person. Email address will not be shared and must be included in order to contact you if you win. Winner will be selected and contacted April 29th.


I'd appreciate you sharing/recommending this "contest" with and to as many mothers you know and hopping on over to "Like" me on Facebook so you can see the final story when it's released. Here's a cute family story to prime the pump for sharing your mother memories.