Shut Up and Listen

Dear Mom

Dear mom, to the woman who birthed me.
Breathed in and filled my lungs with life.
To the woman who not only watched me grow, but grew alongside me.
Through eyes that never changed, I watched you stumble through life. Struggle, fall, get up. Trip, rip, heart attack.
Live, breathe, shatter. Pick up the broken pieces.
Keep moving. Break down and cry.
Keep walking. Don't stop.
Run. Hold it together.
Don't let them see. Be strong.
Life is unfair. It took parts of you and made you a mismatched puzzle piece.
It pulled you apart, and laid you against the darkness.
It hurt you. And made you scared.
But for the sake of your children, you kept going.
When you cried, trees grew.
When you smiled, the sun wasn't bright enough.
When your daughter walked on shattered glass.
You didn't understand.
You thought it was a sick joke and that life would never be on your side.
But you told her to keep going.
You taught her to be strong.
You taught her life would never be fair.
Be realistic. But what I saw was fairness.
When you felt like the world would never give you a cent, you gave a million dollars to the guy on the corner with a story you didn't know.
When unfamiliar children with blank faces couldn't get gifts from mommy or daddy, you bought it for them.
All you got in return was the satisfaction of goodness.
Because despite the broken pieces, you are goodness.
You are kind. Life took things from you, but gave you so much more in disguise.
You lost a father. You almost lost a child.
You carried a family from home to home.
But what you got in return was a family who adored you.
A daughter who will save someone's life and inspire others by living.
A son who hides his love behind teasing and anger.
A husband who falls in love with you when the sun breaks the surface- even if he is too shy to admit it.
This life will never be fair, but you are more than this life.
You are the goodness in people's hearts.
You are the smile at the end of a bad day.
You are a tree filled to the brim with wisdom.
You are familiar.
You are stronger than a house.
Because you are a home. You are my home.