Dear Mom,

Thank you for always inspiring me to put others first and making me — slightly delayed as it was — the woman I am today with a genuine heart for helping others and the example of our responsibility to be active in our compassion.

You have always been no-nonsense, courageously facing the realities of life with strength and no fear. I am so thankful to have such a strong, independent and principled person for a mother.

You never cried about an “empty nest” or became really sad we were growing up like some moms. You went on to your own adventures and did so much of what you missed out on because you had us so young. You love us in just the right way and have shown us how to be strong women. I love you!

Just before we ran the Marine Corps Marathon 2011

When I was kid — and when we didn’t have all that much money ourselves —  you and Dad regularly bought groceries for a family that didn’t have any. We had several different less fortunate friends of the family stay in our small home. You always always picked up trash on the side o the road to keep the earth clean and spent hours and hours of your busy day doing volunteer work for Backstreet Missions. Today, you continue to give so much of your time and money to others, traveling to Kenya and Haiti, raising money for Back on My Feet, sponsoring needy children, helping less fortunate co-workers and so much more.

You have always given your time, money, compassion and care to people who need it. You are not the super sentimental type about things — you are pretty black and white. You think people should work hard and stop complaining so much. But you gives and back up your words with action and compassion.

Coaching my sister Shelby through labor…love this one of them.

  
This post is dedicated to you, Mom, for developing in me the heart to care for others, the encouragement to take great adventures (I’ll never forget your note to me when I went on my first mission trip and you quoted the Steven Curtis Chapman song) and the freedom to be whoever I wanted to be.

Mom & my sister, Lindsey. Thanks to these two, our whole family are running, Back on My Feet supporters!

As the song says, “this is what we were created for, this is the great adventure.” I hope being our Mom has been the best part of yours so far.

Love your first born,
Me