to his mom:

mom, i'm glad that you...

let us play nintendo in our underwear on saturday mornings.

and that you built snow men & forts with us every winter.

glad that you bought me a pizza {with candles} instead of cake for my sixth birthday.

and indulged us in backyard football games,

even though we could all see that wasn't really your thing.

i'm glad that you made us pull weeds from the garden, even when we didn't want to.

and that you talked sense into us after throwing snow balls at passing cars.

that you didn't kill me when i shot aaron raab in the head with my bb gun.

i'm glad that you baked sweet rolls, even when we didn't deserve them.

that you played hymns in the car on the way to church,

and talked about what we had each learned while driving home.

i'm glad that you let me help you cut fresh rhubarb from the garden,

and then used it to make my favorite dessert.

that you were there at every major event, and even the non-major ones.

i'm glad that you took us out for custard at home plate.

and glad that you let me order whatever i wanted.

glad that you took me and my friends bowling for my eighth birthday party.

and that you sat down and helped me with homework at night.

i'm glad you created whirlpools with us kids in the pool.

and that you made me memorize the articles of faith when i was eleven.

and had me help the wondra's pick their apples instead of playing in the river,

teaching me the importance of selfless service.

i'm especially glad that you were there loving me when i sure didn't deserve it.

and i'm glad for countless other things,

that even though i can't remember right now,

made for an extremely happy childhood.

i appreciate everything you do.

i love you!

-ryan

to her mom:

mom, i'm glad that you...

let me sit in your bathroom & watch you do your makeup as a girl.

that you helped us pull practical jokes on dad while he was at work on april fools day.

that you sewed us costumes for halloween, and concerts, and plays.

that you read to me even when i could read on my own.

that you were home helping us get ready for school in the mornings,

and making us lunch when we came home at noon,

and there to welcome us after school.

i'm glad that you let me help you cook dinner.

that you took me on individual date nights & overnights.

that you kept your dresses from high school for us all to play dress-up in.

and even let us wear them riding the merry-go-round.

i'm glad you bribed me to read the book of mormon in third grade,

with a kitten as incentive.

i'm glad you let me name her {and all subsequent cats over the years} kitty.

even though that is kind of a silly name.

i'm glad you designed my room for me all in pink.

that you let us believe in tooth fairies, and easter bunnies, and santa clause.

even though it was devastating to finally realize the truth.

i'm glad you let us help you garden,

and that you planted sweet peas every year.

i'm even glad you made me pick one of my favorite toys to give to one of my friends,

as an apology after i had stolen her barbie at show-and-tell.

i'm glad you wrote me love notes & left them secretly on my bed for me to find.

and that you acted happy to receive imitations of those notes over so many years.

that you signed me up for speaking, & violin, & piano, & flute lessons,

even though none of them ever really took.

i'm glad that you let me do my own hair when i wanted to,

and awfully glad you were willing to step in when that didn't go well.

i'm glad you let me buy that one puffy {and expensive} dress i really wanted,

despite the fact that it really wasn't cute.

and that you let me invite so many kids to my birthday parties.

i'm glad you made occasions feel so special, and each of us so special in them.

i hope today you feel just like that.

really very special.

'cause i love you a lot, and i'm glad you're my mom!

-leah

Happy Mothers Day!

To: my mom

Thank you. For a lot of things, but especially for reading to me.

One of my earliest and fondest memories is reading with you.

Remember when I was in second grade and you read the hiding place aloud to us?

Every night I could hardly wait to gather in your bedroom, some of us on the bed some of us on the floor. Eager to begin where we had left off the night before.

Anticipation was thick among all of us for that tender nightly ritual.

In an unexpected way that book, like so many others, absorbed me and inspired such a new awareness of the world.

Long into the night I would sit up and contemplate what we had read. I would imagine every detail as it was described and then try to envision how I would have lived that life.

For a long time I believed that everyone lived through a Holocaust.

In fact, for many months I kept a bag under my bed, certain that inevitable day was drawing near. Each day I'd add to the growing reserve.

I wasn't afraid of it because I felt prepared. I'm still realizing those spiritual lessons that began at your knees so many years ago.

But more than what I learned by reading a particular book, I am grateful for what I learned because you read to me.

I learned to love to read!

Of all the things you taught us to love and appreciate, this is my favorite!

Music, art, laughter, singing, beauty, order. Each of these I appreciate because of you and what you taught me as a child.

But reading is a unique endowment because it offers simply endless troves of knowledge.

Thank you mom. For reading to me.

For teaching me how to love it. For enriching my life. For giving me the gift of knowledge. How to find it, how to benefit from it, and especially how to love it.

Happy Mothers Day!