Mom, wanted to be early in wishing you a Happy Mother's Day.
Guess what? I am typing this email with both hands! Something that I was fearful might never again be a possibility after my stroke. I know that this email isn't about me, but this miracle (and not a small one) is one in a series of three incredible miracles that have happened over the last month. And they are each connected to you and my Mother's Day wish for you.
Recently, I was telling a friend about the specifics of these miracles and said that if I were standing at the edge of the Red Sea with nowhere to run, and the entire Egyptian Army were marching toward me with the intent to end my life, and the Sea opened up wide before me, revealing dry ground providing an escape of safety and refuge, that it wouldn't be any more miraculous than any one of these three miracles the Lord has so graciously blessed me with!
Again, this email is not about me - it's about you and Mother's Day. But the two are inseparably connected - my three miracles and my Mother's Day wish for you.
If there is one thing that I have come to value about you Mom and the upbringing I received almost exclusively through you, is the quality you instilled in me of self-confidence. You consistently told me that I could accomplish anything - I could be an astronaut, a doctor, a race car driver, a millionaire, a pro basketball player - even at 5' 6" tall, a, rock star, an artist, a policeman, or even the President of the greatest country in the world.
Whatever the dreams of a daydreaming boy, you grasped them, supported them, made them a reality for me, and made them your dreams too. You gave an infinity of credibility to my dreams, however fleeting they might have been. And not only could I be any of those things in your eyes, I could be the best ever at any of those things! Even though my silhouette of George Washington was his profile, but I drew both eyes and a nose and a mouth as in he was facing forward, you made me feel like I was talented enough to paint portraits that could rival the Mona Lisa or any of the works of Leonardo da Vinci, Michael Angelo or Vincent van Gogh!
Confidently knowing that the person that knows you better than any other person on the planet, and loves you more than any other person on the planet has that kind of infinite confidence in you is priceless! It's of infinite worth! It's the stuff that many would refer to as pot of gold at the end of the rainbow or Shangri-La or Paradise.
How does someone ever say 'Thank You' for something like that? It sounds so trite and insincere - so inadequate and insufficient. 'Thank You and Happy Mother's Day' may come somewhat closer, but still light years shy of an adequate measure of gratitude. There's just not a way to try and balance the scale,
Thanks for being my Mom! I'm typing with two hands because my Mom told me, instilled in me, and made me believe in myself that I could do anything. Anything! Walking is coming back, slowly but surely. But it will come. Then running, skipping, hopping and more! How do I know? Because my Mom told me that I could do anything!
Walking for today, but Faster than a speeding bullet; More powerful than a locomotive; Able to leap tall buildings at a single bound! for tomorrow! I know I can because my Mother told me so!
The world can be a very scary place, but oh how safe and secure it is under your mother's wings! Such a brave mother! Teaching her little ones that they can do anything, that they can be anything, that they too can be brave all on their own. I'm brave, because my mother taught me that I could be brave!
Happy Mother's Day! I love you for all of the things you have done to make me the person I am, especially for giving me confidence in myself. Thank you for being my mother!
With Love, your firstborn son, Calvin
PS, Here's a song that reminds me about you because you are such an incredibly brave Mom!
