Happy Mother's Day

To My Daughter, with Love, on the Important Things in Life

{by Susan Polis Schutz}

A mother tries to provide her daughter 
with insight into the important things in life 
in order to make her life 
as happy and fulfilling as possible.


A mother tries to teach her daughter
to be good, always helpful to other people
to be fair, always treating others equally
to have a positive attitude at all times
to always make things right when they are wrong
to know herself very well
to know what her talents are
to set goals for herself
to not be afraid of working too hard to reach her goals...


A mother tries to to teach her daughter
to have many interests to pursue
to laugh and have fun every day
to appreciate the beauty of nature
to enter into friendships with good people 
to honor their friendships and always be a true friend
to appreciate the importance of family
and to particularly respect and love our elder members
to use her intelligence at all times
to listen to her emotions 
to adhere to her values


A mother tries to teach her daughter 
to not be afraid to stick to her beliefs 
to not follow the majority when the majority is wrong
to carefully plan a life for herself
to vigorously follow her chosen path
to enter into a relationship with someone worthy of herself
to love this person unconditionally with her body and mind
to share all that she has learned in life with this person...

This is a portion of a poem my mother gave me in 1989. I've been moved reading it 22 years later with the perspective of being a mother myself. There really are so many life lessons we want to impart to our children, aren't there? The list above is by no means comprehensive, but it's certainly enough to make you sit back and wonder, "Can I do all of this?"

I am grateful when I think about the words in this poem and realize that my mom managed to impart these lessons in a way that stuck and became a part of my life. She taught from her actions as much as from her words. I hope I can pass these lessons along to the boys in a way that would make her proud.

My mom is an amazing mother. I adore her. I miss her, and I wish we lived closer together. I know she wishes for the same. Especially so that she can get more of this...


We are so looking forward to having her here when baby Andrew arrives. =) I told Alex the other day that Noni was going to be "bunking" with him in his new room in one of the beds, and his response was an enthusiastic "Yea!" 

Happy Mother's Day, Mom! We love you to the moon and back! And Happy Mother's Day to all of the amazing mothers out there who I am blessed to know and have in my life.