Thursday, October 2, 2008

happy birthday mom!

today is my mamacita's birthday...i just finished giving her a big hug and kiss...and told her that i love her...she is 68 years old today...

my relationship with my mom has not always been easy - we are very different from each other...but one thing that i have never doubted...is her love for me...she has given up many things so that my brothers and i would have...i am thankful for her love, her devotion, her encouragement...and mostly...her prayers...

in her room there is a framed poem that i gave her many many years ago...sometimes it makes me laugh that she still has it...prominently placed...i thought i would post that poem today...

an iou paid in full!
one evening, a little girl named elena came up to her mother in the kitchen
while she was cooking dinner. she handed her a piece of paper that she had been writing on.
after her mom (ana) dried her hands on a cloth,
she read the following...
mom, would you please pay me for:
cleaning the bathrooms - $5.00
cleaning my room this week - $1.00
vacuuming and dusting - $2.50
taking out the garbage - $1.00
getting a good report card - $5.00
cleaning and raking the yard - $2.00
total owed: $16.50
well, ana looked at her standing there
and elena could see the memories flashing through her mind.
she picked up the pen, turned over the paper she'd written on
and wrote the following:
for years, i waited patiently for the Lord to give us a daughter - no charge.
for all the nights that i've sat up worrying about you - no charge.
for all the times i prayed for you - no charge.
for all the trying times and tears that you've caused through the years - no charge.
for all the nights that were filled with worries i knew were ahead - no charge.
for the toys, food, clothes and even wiping your nose - no charge, daughter.
when you add all of this up, the cost of my love is - no charge.
when elena finished reading what her mother had written,
there were big tears in her big brown eyes and she looked straight
up at ana and said,
"mom, i sure love you"
she then took the pen and in great big letters wrote:
"paid in full"
i love you mom!
kinda cheesy...i know...but my mom's love for me has been shown in more ways than i can count...she continues to want only the best for me...and most of all...i know she continually prays for God's best in my life...
my prayer for you...mom...is that you experience the love that you have so freely given to your family...i love you more than words can say...thank you for all you do...for all that you are!
i love you mom! happy birthday!!

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