Hello all,
This Mother’s Day will be a bit different for me and my wife Dawn. This is the first year without our moms to take out for lunch, give a beautiful flower arrangement, love on, show appreciation for the many sacrifices they made and for all they gave of themselves to make us who we are today.
Dawn and I had moms who grew up in the country as farmers daughters, were hardworking, possessed a “can do”attitude, were perfectionistic, demanding, didn’t take no for an answer, kept us in line, were terrific cooks, were loyal, gave both solicited and unsolicited advice, gave everything to their families and loved us unconditionally. Our moms could outwork everyone and had confidence they could get anything done with the right amount of effort. Our moms became fast friends when Dawn and I married. After our dads passed away we would have them over for our weekly mom’s night dinner.
My mom was a black belt in Karate, the first woman in Georgia to have her own Dojo (Karate school) and the first Homecoming Queen in Dodge County, Georgia. Some of you may remember my mom working for me during tax season welcoming clients when they arrived for their appointments. My father died when she was 38 years old and she held down the fort for me and my brother. She was resilient and within three years was remarried to Dan giving me a terrific stepfather and a nice addition to my family. I was a groomsman in their wedding.
I realize more and more with each passing year what an incredible gift our mothers were to us and how their mothering shaped every aspect of our lives. There is not a day that goes by that I don’t think about my mom. This Mother’s Day (Dawn‘s first without her mom), we will spend in San Francisco with my stepson Zachary. This year, Zach’s birthday falls on Mother’s Day. As we celebrate Zach’s birthday, we will also remember how our moms well prepared us for life. Dawn and I are now the elders of our families and thinking about our legacy.
For those of you who still have your mom around, what a gift. For the rest of us, we can choose to do something meaningful to honor their memory and make them proud. As always, thank you for being my client. I appreciate you.
Have a Happy Mother’s Day!
Best,
Charles
