a birthday wish.

My incredibly inspirational, beautiful, and well-rounded mother of twenty-something years turns another year older today. I recently shared a post about how important it is to develop a healthy and constructive relationship with your mother if it's a possibility- for she is wise beyond your years. I thank God every day for the incredible relationship I have with my family in general, but especially with my mom. I would not be where I am today if it wasn't for the motherly love she provided me with day-in and day-out from the moment I was born. She taught me to be the strong woman I am slowly becoming today. Life is a journey- a process- and I'm in the process of figuring out where I fit in this great big world. Life has us by the throat sometimes and doesn't seem to let go until you have melted into a puddle of emotion. I can tell you that if there is one person I can count on to build me back up, it's my mom. Growing up, she would watch me in my early years fall over and begin to cry- she would say to me "Hol, pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and try again." To this day that saying has resonated with me in an immense fashion. From the beginning, mom wanted me to take everything life threw at me and turn it into a positive learning experience, even if the event itself wasn't positive at all. It was all about the recovery; all about having the strength to get back up when something has completely defeated you. My mom has been that strength for me when I didn't believe I could do it myself. My backbone, my voice of reasoning, my inspiration- Happy Birthday to the strongest and most loving mother that God could ever have given me.