A very happy Mother’s day to all of the birth, adoptive, fur, rescue and second Moms out there!

And to my favorite Minnesota woman: my Mom (isn’t she gorgeous?!)

To the woman who taught me the importance of road trips in your hometown, singing your lungs out in the car, and loving the whispering pines you were born and raised in.

To the woman who learned to fall back in love with life while enduring the painful, emotional terrain of losing children and living life as a widow. Who embraced single-parentness and loved us enough for two.

To the woman who found herself through mud, dirt, bulrush, gladiolas and hydrangeas, loon calls, pine trees, fresh air, and fresh water. Who taught us how to do the same. And that it was totally okay if its not your thing.

To the woman who showed me how to ask the universe for help, and what to do when it responds. To take risks and fall in love hard. To learn how to love yourself, so that you can share it.

To quote an earlier post about her recognition from then-President Obama for her work with those soldiers deployed overseas:

“I have always been proud of her and her heart, no matter how much she believed that it was often more of a curse than a blessing. The calling of a life much bigger than her own brought a remarkable journey but one that colored her life (and mine). I have never been more awe-inspired.”

To my Mom.

From dancing in the rain, roasting marshmallows, cutting your own wood for bonfires, tubing down the Apple River, counting and sleeping under the stars, to the field mice we tried to keep as pets, picking strawberries and eating them before we got in the house, singing in the garden, loving my closest friends as your own children, and fishing in the rain – You are my first love and best friend, and forever my Mom.

Happy Mother’s Day. I love you more.