My Mom

My mom is the epitome of what we should all be more like.

She is patient and she is kind.

But greater than both of those things combined, she knows how to love.

She knows how to be quiet and listen while politely getting her own point across. She can be yelled at and remain calm as she lets the other person get all that they have to say out, instead of immediately interrupting to defend herself.

She is graceful and thinks before she speaks.

She lets you know how she feels with no intention of making you feel bad about why she might not agree with what you have to say.

She remains open to the possibility that she may be wrong but will willingly listen while you go on to explain how she might be wrong because she knows that is always a possibility. She only avoids conflict to try to better the situation because she knows it is not worth wasting time or feelings arguing over.

She overextends herself to make others feel better, even when they might not be in the right. She is the glue to many situations and relationships.

She will put herself out before she lets a person struggle on their own while expecting nothing but respect in return.

She is right more often than she is wrong and that upsets you only when you’re wrong and you know it.

It might take years to realize that she is most often right. Right in the sense that she makes decisions based on knowledge and past experiences because she did what all people are supposed to do when making mistakes by actually learning from them.

She accepts that all humans make mistakes. She also knows that some of us will make the same mistakes over and over again but that we do not deserve to be loved any less.

She is the person that comes to mind when you know you're making the wrong choice because you know what she would do and that’s usually the right thing whether you'd like to admit it or not.

She makes you want to be a better person even when she is not around because that’s the kind of effect she has on a person.

She will let you mess up only so you can learn from your own mistakes while not even expecting a “you were right” in the end.

She knows how to work harder than most people do while also finding the time to laugh and have some fun along the way, as one should.

She is self-aware and recognizes her own flaws. The flaws that we all know we have but the kind that most of us like to pretend don’t actually exist.

She appreciates the little things more than the big things. Which says a lot for a person.

She requires little and gives a lot. And sometimes, some are too invested in themselves to recognize how much she does for them and those "some" are often the ones that wouldn’t be where they are without her without even realizing.

She doesn’t ask much of anyone, only that they do the right thing. And as long as you tried, she is satisfied. Even when I came home from school with a C+ on a class assignment, she was never upset. The one and only thing she ever asked was, "But did you try? That's all that matters."

And unfortunately, some of us take all of her emotional intelligence she embodies and tends to view her as inferior but if you told her how intelligent she was, she would only laugh, even when deep down, she knows how strong and intelligent she is. But it is the not knowing that keeps her modest. Because she knows nothing is perfect. And that is why she continuously strives to learn more and be better each and every single day.

I once noticed a post-it note on her desk that read, "doesn’t matter, do better" and if that doesn't explain her, I am not sure what does.

She is everything you know we lack in the world and fear more than anything when she leaves us.

She is the calm in the midst of a storm and the chirping birds outside of your window on a summer morning that lets you know you should be outside enjoying it.

She is a force that never stops working and makes you yourself want to work harder even when you don't want to.

She needs you as much as you need her because sometimes she needs some help, too.