My Mom Deserves a Medal of Honor

My mom deserves a Badge of Courage.

There are those who say they believe in you, and then there are those who actually do. My mom has believed in me since the moment I flew out of the womb to greet the daylight. She has given me the courage to believe in myself, and encourages me to listen to my heart, no matter what I hear it saying. I recently told her I plan to write a book one day and title it, “A Nut Nut’s Guide to Following Your Heart.” When I told her this, she simply smiled and then laughed. You see, the truth is, she doesn’t think any of it is nutty at all. In fact, she would demand I have a book signing so she could proudly gather everyone around to loudly applaud her one and only daughter. Because that’s the kind of mom she is.

My mom deserves a Purple Heart Medal.

Only a true warrior and a devoted best friend would step into the line of fire and take the fall, time and time again. My mom has all but dragged my lifeless body away from the battlefield so many times that I lost count long ago. This includes times in her life when she could barely find the energy to stand and carry herself, much less carry me. But she did. She has bandaged me up and stopped my wounds from bleeding at the risk of letting herself bleed out. She has always been and remains self-sacrificing to a fault. Yet I could never fault her for a single thing.

My mom deserves the Nobel Peace Prize.

Most good deeds go unnoticed, or so they say. Certainly not in this case. My mom has seen me at my worst, but somehow always makes room in her heart to love me, forgive me, and not give up on me. She manages to remain calm and levelheaded, even when I let my emotions carry me away, or am acting too stubborn for my own good. She convinces me to not let the sun set on my wrath. She tells me to sleep on the hard decisions I am faced with before making them. She reminds me worrying never does anyone much good. And boy am I glad she reminds me for I can be a pretty good worrier sometimes.

My mom deserves a Lifetime Achievement Award.

“This isn’t your own little world,” she said, “but rather a beautiful world that you have graciously been made a part of.” My mom brought me up believing that as a part of the human race, we are all in this together. And that if I am given something in excess, I should reach out and share it with the world around me. Not only does she preach the importance of giving unto others, she practices it and leads by a glowing example. I am beyond convinced there’s not one selfish bone in the woman’s body. I only wish my bones were much less selfish and far more like hers. 

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