Dear Shep,

I’m having a little break here in my morning and thought that over my coffee I would write you a little something on this second Mother’s Day with you.

You woke me up with a beautiful slideshow full of nothing but our favorite memories to my song to you, “Not While I’m Around” sung by Jaime Cullum. We sat and watched together while your Daddy cooked me a BLT with a side of strawberries and coffee (in the good cup….that’s pretty important stuff). Beautiful red roses and a card with a special note from you and Daddy made the morning even better and we spent the majority of it with extra snuggles from you which pretty much made my year. You boys planned a picnic for after church and a mani/pedi for mommy later today, so I look forward to the adventures that we have when you wake from your morning nap.

I just wanted to write you to thank you for allowing me to be your mommy. I know we didn’t choose each other, but Jesus did, and he couldn’t have made a better choice. You are what redirects my day each morning to things eternal and are a constant reminder to me of what truly matters while I’m here as your mommy. Sometimes it feels as though I can’t compete with the ideal mommy I have created in my mind, but I am thankful for the supportive friends and family who remind me that what I’m doing matters. The hours of rolling a ball with you up and down our hallway matters. The meals full of sign language lessons and teaching you the harsh reality that it is not, in fact, okay to throw food from your plate matter. Most importantly, the days full of wrecking a clean house, ignoring client emails, and staying in our pjs to learn to stack blocks and finally master what a cow says……well, they matter.

Remind me as you grow older of the things that matter. Remind me that the success of a business is nowhere close to the success of our relationship. Show me that an iPhone can’t compare to not only hearing your laugh, but seeing it with my eyes. Lastly, promise me that you’ll always spare a little time for your mommy, even when you’re older with a family of your own. Not because you owe me, but because we’re friends. But seriously? You owe me……

I love you peanut!

Mommy Xx