A Day for Doves

'I'll love you forever, I'll like you for always, as long as I'm living, my baby you'll be.'

It's Mother's Day once again, and once again I am many many miles from my own mama and missing her wonderful presence in my life. There is nothing I can say that can do justice to the amazing woman that is my mother. Dovey, as we like to call her, (Do-do to her grandchildren) is the greatest woman I know. She is beautiful, strong, faithful, loving, supportive, encouraging, creative, hilarious, compassionate, considerate, selfless, devoted, and tenacious. She took the less-than-ideal conditions of her own childhood and transformed herself into Super-Mom, determined to be the incredible woman that her own mother could never be. She cultivated a strong, tight-knit family and raised three daughters with a man she has loved since the age of 15. Together they instilled in us the values of love and grace, gratitude, respect for ourselves and others, and led by example the way to a righteous life. From as far back as I can remember, my parents taught my sisters and I the importance of children, the innocents of the world, the future generations. It is because of them that I have been brought to where I am today, doing what I am doing, serving God through caring for His children that have been left behind. My mother had the opportunity to fall in the footsteps of her own mother, but she took her responsibilities as a reward rather than a burden and wore motherhood like a badge of honor.

Keeping the spark alive after 38 years

World's Greatest Grandmother

(Do-do and her first grandbaby, Violet)

Dovey and her 3 girls

The family that plays together, stays together

When I think of my mother I am overcome with a sense of pride. I am so proud of everything that she is, everything that she has done, and everything that she has created in me. I have unconditional love for my mom, the woman who dried my tears as a child, and continues to do the same even now that I am an adult. I can only hope to become even a fraction of the mother that she has been and continues to be, when my time comes. I know that always and forever, no matter how old I am, I will be her baby. Dovey, thank you for everything you have done for me, I love you more than I can say. Happy Mother's Day!

'When I stopped seeing my mother with the eyes of a child, I saw the woman who helped me give birth to myself.'

Nancy Friday

**A note to my sisters: Don't even bother, I totally won this year!