The Answer…

….to the luckiest mom in the world

For those of you who read “Letter to my Daughter“http://reinventingmyselfinto.com/2012/04/23/letter-to-my-daughter/ , we decided to share her answer here:

“My mother… she is beautiful, softened at the edges and tempered with a spine of steel. I want to grow old and be like her.” 
― Jodi Picoult

“Hey mom 
So I just read it. I love you.
Thank you so much for being so understanding and supportive. I really don’t know what I would do without you helping me through everything. If I had to imagine the perfect mother in my head, I’d just think of you  Thank you for letting me be myself. And for letting me mess up. And for helping me fix things when I do. Thank you for showing me what a beautiful woman, inside and out, should be. If you think I’m as great as you say, please know that it’s only because I had you as my example. Life hasn’t been easy for you, either, but you just become better and better each day because of it, despite it. I admire you to no end, mom. I look up to you in every aspect of life.
I’d be lucky to end up half the woman you are. You are truly the best person I have ever met. And to think I get to call you my mom, my best friend and my hero.. I’m one lucky girl 
I love you so much, mom. Thank you for every single hug, kiss, fight, birthday card, present, late night drive, meal, “I love you”, wish, prayer and smile.
<3Tori”

“Did you ever know that you’re my hero” Bette Midler http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c9ZMDPf9hZw

To be honest, I’m not sure if the above quote and song is from her to me… or me to her!

“As mothers and daughters, we are connected with one another. My mother is the bones of my spine, keeping me straight and true. She is my blood, making sure it runs rich and strong. She is the beating of my heart. I cannot now imagine a life without her.” 
― Kristin Hannah, Summer Island

Gifts from my mother

I have the best mother in the world. That goes without saying. Another truth about my mother and I is that we do not usually have the same taste. I remember the brightly colored ponchos, afghans, slippers and hats she made us. I also remember the years after we were all married that she went into a yellow phase and bought all of us yellow shirts and sweaters. All of us loving her and none of us wanting to hurt her, would wear them whenever we got together. We must have looked like a bunch of bananas! Through the years, the gifts kept coming. My 2 favorites: a beautiful Pandora-like bracelet that has Christian symbols all over it. We are Jewish, always have been! Then there was the magnet with 2 girls on it. It says “A friend is someone who knows all about you but loves you anyway” I’m thinking…..was it a re-gift?
But these are just a few of the many physical gifts my mother gave. More importantly, she gave me the gift of all her love and support. She taught me to sing and to laugh and she taught me what it is to love and be loved unconditionally. It is because of my mother that I am the woman and the mother that I am today!
BTW, I wear that bracelet everyday!