Katie’s Mother’s Day piece

Yesterday had to be one of the BEST in my 26 years of being a Mom. Three of my teenage daughters spoke in church. None would let me read what they prepared ahead of time. All of them made me cry. It was one of those moments when years of doggedly staying in the arena we call parenting paid off.

Katie, age 17, is remarkably gifted as an artist and is especially talented as a photographer but excels in other areas as well. She loves country music (must be genetic, because it certainly was not environmental!), loves horses, can be carried away by books and is rock-solid in her beliefs (also known as stubborn and something that I not only love but encourage.)

She wrote and delivered this Mother’s Day piece yesterday:

I get a lot of people who ask me, what’s it like to be adopted?

 

What’s it like to have a mom who’s not your real mom?

I give a simple answer… She is my real mom.

 

She may not have the same blood, or genes, or eye color, but she is my mother.

 

I could go on and on about how amazing she is.

 

Being brave enough to adopt 20 kids, almost all with special needs is amazing. I do have to say however that getting 10 kids all around the same age, and not realizing that they’d all be teenagers at the same time, probably proves that she wasn’t think properly… Or she’s just crazy. 🙂

 

Here is a poem that I wrote.

 

You’ve always been there through the good and the bad
The one I turned to when I was sad
You taught me so much when I was a kid
Not by what you said,
But by the things you did
You always tell to hold my head high
Because all we can do in the life
Is our best to try
I’ll love you mom
Every single day
While I try my best
To find my way

Sometime you just don’t know what to say to your mom on mother’s day without having her hug you, and kiss you, and cry
There’s really only one thing that matters… A simple phrase that I hope you all say everyday… I love you.

 

I love you too, baby girl. I love you too. It has been a delight to be your mother for 17 years. I am excited for your future! It will be bright!