To my mom

John 15:13: Greater love has no man than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.

I'm one of those lucky people who grew up in a truly great family. Two parents, two brothers, numerous ill-fated pets, and some pretty fabulous cousins.

As I get older, it becomes more difficult to look back on my childhood and remember specific events clearly, but there is one thing that will forever be crystal clear: my mom was always there. I don't know how she did it, having had her first baby at only 19 years old, but she taught me by example what it meant to be a good, no a fabulous, mom.

It is only as I've become a mother myself that I've realized what it really means to lay down your life for another. Of course, in the literal sense, I would die for my kids . . . but what about in the figurative everyday sense? That's what my mom did.

I'm sure it was not for herself that she allowed us to have friends stayover for nights on end as though they lived there.

That she accompanied thirty obnoxious 7th and 8th graders on a multi-day field trip around the state of Georgia.

That she attended loud concert after loud concert with a bunch of hyper thirteen year old girls wearing six watches on each arm.

That she would drive out of her way to pick up a Burger King chicken sandwich for her ridiculous daughter who'd had her paged in the grocery store.

That she went on countless high school retreats.

That she decided to make herself the unofficial youth leader for our church which had none, taking teenagers on ski trips and to concerts, and leading them in Bible study at our house every other Sunday.

That she made sure our house and pool were always open to anyone who desired to be there.

That she drove to Merritt Island, Florida (and back) to help her less-courageous-than-she-thought daughter fulfill her summer missionary whims.

That she got up before the crack of dawn to take me to 7 am piano lessons because it was the only time my busy and oh-so-important high school schedule could accommodate.

That she cooked and cleaned and laundered and chauffered and nursed and rejoiced and comforted.

That she faithfully met with three other moms to pray for her kids almost every week of our lives for the past 17 years (and that she still does, though I think it's at least as much for her now!).

Of course this list contains a but few examples of thousands. When I think of my mom, I think of John 15:13.

Mom, thank you for laying down your own life for mine. You were the first person to love me and the first person I loved. Thank you for teaching me how to be a mom. You've always been my biggest cheerleader, and now that I'm old enough to understand all that it cost to be the kind of parent you were and still are, I'm your biggest cheerleader, too.

Happy birthday.