Dear Momma

To the first person that I ever met in this world,

The first thing that you ever introduced me to was life. Through you, a connection with this world was made & a connection that could never be severed. “Life is temporary but energy lives forever”, these are the words that you shared with me when I was a young kid. Sitting on the front porch with the warm, soothing summer breeze grazing our faces. The way you smiled with happy confidence as you spoke these words spoke directly to my soul. The cool cement under me reminded me to always stay grounded as you pointed towards the clear blue skies & said “what you see up there, is your only limit”. I simply smiled & took it with a grain of salt. As I progressed through life, a few years later I remember sitting in your office down by the CU Denver college campus. Hearing cpr quietly playing in the background, looking out from your 5th-floor office window onto the Platte River. As the water flowed & the sun smiled at us from its reflection on the stream. You looked at me & said, “Always remember, life is like that stream. As long as you allow it to flow, the world will always be happy. The sun you see are the lives of the people you will touch. They will always be thankful for your kind, gentle but steady flow”. I simply asked “What if I don’t flow?”, you replied “Then you will be like the rock, only in the way but not stopping anything but yourself. The world will always reward you for playing your part”.

Powerful, brilliant & resilient Woman. These short memories are 2 out of 2 million that I can recall. Not only did you use words to influence my thought process & approach to life, but more importantly you used actions. You showed me what it meant to fight for who & what you love. From going on the field at soccer games & letting the referee know how you felt about giving me a red card, to showing up to my teacher conferences & never being afraid to make sure that I was getting everything that I needed from the teachers that were teaching me. I remember the fight you fought after dad had that stroke in 2013. All of the appointments you drove him to & from, all of the love that you showed him. Even when you were visibly exhausted you still found a way to push through, but I’m not surprised, if anyone knows you then they know exactly what to expect. You never went halfway & because of that your the reason why giving up on anything that I’m committed to is NEVER an option.

So if I can say one thing to you, let it be this. Thank you. Thank you for all of the days & nights that I made you cry but you still chose to love me unconditionally. Thank you for showing up on the days & nights where you had nothing left in your tank. Thank you for working extra shifts & taking on extra jobs to make sure my Christmas tree was always full with MORE than I asked for. Thank you for the long drives that you took to get me to those out-of-state soccer tournaments. Thank you for opening up your heart & showing me what life really means. Gratitude, optimism, assertiveness, honesty & authenticity are all words that come to mind when I think of who I am because of who you are. Strong, beautiful, powerful Queen. If there’s nothing else that you know just know this, “You are appreciated!”.

Love,

Michael J

Xoxoxo