I read this recently, “The more a daughter knows the details of her mother’s life… the stronger the daughter.” It’s from a book by Anita Diamant that I haven’t read (shocker), and I don’t know what the author meant exactly, but I know it hit my heart a certain way… like the quote knew me already. The beautiful woman above is my mother, and I know from experience that the mother-daughter relationship is one of the most complicated on the planet! In the past year, though, I’ve been let in on more details of her life and I do feel stronger. I feel stronger as a person, and I feel that our bond is stronger… more unbreakable. I even feel more capable of being vulnerable, which is a beautiful thing in my book.
We have definitely had our easier seasons (elementary school) and our harder seasons (adolescence, anyone?), but we’re at such a beautiful place now that I couldn’t help but honor her this week of Mother’s Day. I have learned so much from her… she’s incredibly intelligent (has more degrees than I’ll ever dream of), super talented (at opera singing, pronouncing things correctly and much more), and oh-so-generous (with time, energy, money, you name it). So, thank you, Mom, for filling our house with arias and piano music, for being a perpetual learner, and for showing me what it really means to give sacrificially. I love you.
[photo taken in Shenandoah Valley in September. Nikon d700. 50mm lens]
