Love You More Than All the Tea in China

I'm thinking about my mom tonight.  And how much I love her.  I think about her every night.  And talk to her almost as much.  My mom is my world.  She gave birth to me, she fed me and she clothed me. I never purchased a single pair of underwear until I was married...true story...not making this one up....really who would make that up?  She still gives me her coupon for a free pair of Victoria's Secret underwear...now that is love only a mother can give. She taught me right from wrong, she showed me unconditional love and she believed in me.  She punished me and then hugged me when she knew I learned my lesson. She never let me forget my middle name.  She reminded me to say 'please' and 'thank you' and to always send a thank you note.  She guided me to pray and believe in God, however I saw fit.  She came to my plays, band concerts, and sporting events.  She was at my basketball game, when I scored my first two points...on her birthday.  She talked to my friends.  And invited them over. She called their parents.  She told me when something was inappropriate to do, or say, or wear.  She showed me the happy side of life and encouraged me to always be thankful for what I had.   She said I should always treat others the way I wanted to be treated.  When she tucked me into bed she would say, I love you more than all the tea in China...every night.  If she wasn't there, she said I could look up at the stars, and always know we were both looking at the same sky.  She loves me.

She moved me from my childhood bedroom, to my dorm room, to apartments, to town homes, and to my own family's home.  She was there when I chose my dress for my First Communion, 8th grade farewell, prom, and wedding. She chose Lillian's baptism gown.  She listens to me.  Sometimes she sides with me, sometimes with Sean, and sometimes with the triple threat.  Damn kids, they're not ever supposed to be right...and neither is Sean for that matter.  She welcomes my children for sleepovers.  And spoils them rotten....lets them have pops, soda, and paci's....whenever they want.  "It's special," she tells them.  "You're at Nanny's."  What's hers is mine.  She shares whatever she has.  Even if I don't want it.  I pretend that I do.  It's the thought that counts.  Never mind that her closets and fridge are bare after I leave.  She doesn't care.  She loves me.

Whenever I face something that seems insurmountable, she gives me the strength to see beyond it. This too shall pass.  I look back and I know she's right.   She was right when I was fifteen too.  But don't tell her that.  With my mom on my side, I feel like I can conquer the world.  Or at least a day full of three under five...and a husband...and a dog.  She loves me.

My mother's love has no beginning and no end.  It's unbeatable and unspeakable.  There is nothing else like it in the world.  It consumes me.  I feel so blessed to have the mom that I do.  I love you mom.  More than all the tea in China.

Okay...so maybe it was 2am and we had a case of few beers.