THE ABC'S OF GRATITUDE--M

M--Mom. I am so grateful I have had the opportunity to be a mother. A mom. Maauum. And even Ma. I remember with tenderness the days I was the children's mommy. What tender, cherished days those were.

I am grateful for my own mom. I am who I am, in a large part, because of who she was. She was who she was, in large part, because of her angel mother. And so it goes, back through time, all the way to mother Eve. How lucky I am to belong to that great wave of womanhood. How lucky I am to have two daughters, who can ride the wave into the future. What wonderful moms they are and will be. And my sons? They have chosen wisely and their children have, and will have, wonderful moms, too.

If I would have had a crappy mother it would have been just what I needed to learn and grow. Even at our worst we are good for something. I say I'm lucky to have had a gentle mother, a loving one but what of all the great people who didn't? Where would they be if they had lived with gentleness. Maybe they needed a different upbringing to reach their potential.

Don't get me wrong. I think love is the most important emotion in the world but what if...? Sometimes we have to experience what we don't want in order to know what we do want. Or to know what we want to be.