May 8: Happy Mother's Day!

Went with my family to their ward today, so that we could all sit with my Mom on Mother's Day.  She's a very affectionate person, always hugging, kissing, rubbing our backs, stroking our arms.  Today as she put her hand on mine in my lap, lightly stroking my hand with her thumb, I looked down at her hands.  They are not the hands of a young woman, but they are beautiful.  I thought of all the thousands of dishes they've washed, clothes they've folded, band-aids they've applied, meals they've prepared, cold rags they've put on foreheads, diapers they've changed, and tears they've dried.  I thought of how lucky I am to have a mother that's so easy to love and appreciate.  All of us have a mother, but not all of us have a mother as amazing as her.
When I think of all she's done for me, and sacrificed of herself for the happiness of each of us instead, I wonder if I will ever know that kind of love... if I will ever be that selfless.
I couldn't pick just one quote about mothers, so here are a few that I really like:

I love my mother as the trees love water and sunshine - she helps me grow, prosper, and reach great heights.  ~Terri Guillemets


A mother's happiness is like a beacon, lighting up the future but reflected also on the past in the guise of fond memories.  ~Honoré de Balzac


A mother is the truest friend we have, when trials heavy and sudden, fall upon us; when adversity takes the place of prosperity; when friends who rejoice with us in our sunshine desert us; when trouble thickens around us, still will she cling to us, and endeavor by her kind precepts and counsels to dissipate the clouds of darkness, and cause peace to return to our hearts.  ~Washington Irving


It's not easy being a mother.  If it were easy, fathers would do it.  ~From the television show The Golden Girls