Happy Mother's Day
I have had a lot of influence of females in my life. Outside of the biggest influence of my own mother I have had wives, grandmothers, aunts, sisters, mother-in-laws, step-mothers, and sister-in-laws that all drive home the point of how important the female influence is.
I am constantly amazed at the grace that Samantha has when dealing with challenges introduced by our kids. Regardless if the issue is with her kids or my own - she handles things with patience that is awe inspiring. I have seen many mothers do this and I am always amazed at their level of composure during times of stress. Times like this have me reflect upon my own childhood and I wonder how much stress I brought my mom. I'm sure I introduced my fair share. My older sister Marie and I would fight all the time growing up. I think we genuinely enjoyed each others company but on top of that we really really enjoyed annoying each other. I am sure I gave my mom a few grey hairs. I appreciate her patience as I always knew she cared for me.
Jan was no different. She was there for the kids. She played with them. She comforted them. She taught them. She loved them and they loved her. I think on discussions I recall having with both Jan and Samantha. Both being so hard on themselves. Both feeling they could and should be better. I think this must be normal as I also have a hard time receiving compliments. I wrote a note to Samantha for Mother's day. I decided when Jan died to write more. I have very little written by Jan to me so I just wanted to write something heartfelt to Samantha. I hope all the Mothers out in the world realize they are more than a human napkin and under-appreciated CEO of the family. They have influence beyond what they realize.
Happy Mother's Day
