Today I am chatty. VERY chatty. I just had a hour long conversation with my mother. Not that that in itself is odd but my parents have been traveling and I have saved up all my chit chat until today apparently. But we talked about everything and aired out old laundry and let the sunlight of today shine through old hurts of the past. Out in the open those old wounds (and not ones we necessarily caused each other) just seem so – what is the word I’m looking for – they seem like misunderstandings. Like the language and the relationship we have now, could have helped us navigate those pathways so much better.

Where that image’s statement may have been true in the past, I prefer to think that the burning of the bridges are those of things in the past, and they are there to light the way so that my stepchild, and my nieces and nephews and my brothers don’t have to walk on the nails that we walked on.

I’ve been thinking about thankfulness since Thanksgiving. And I say this from the bottom of my heart, I am grateful that my mother and I stuck it out. That we didn’t let the rough years of teenage, college and post college cloud us as we aged. She is fearless in her beliefs and while we sometimes diverge in that path, she taught me so much. Rules I live by today. Family is sacred and you stand by them. What you believe is important and you take action on those beliefs, not just in your head. Compassion is not a weakness. Belief in yourself is not a sin. Quiet strength is still strength. Shared laughter is awesome. Forgiveness is grace.

I am thankful that you are my mother. I’m so blessed and the love I have for you is only equaled by my respect for you as a person.