Chapter Fifty-One: To My Mother, Barbara

Mom,

I have said this to you multiple times. But you are without a doubt, the bravest, the strongest, smartest, kindest, hardest working, most beautiful mother in the world, and if anyone has a problem with that, they can come to talk to me about it. Time and time again, you gave me one piece of advice, and that was, "Treat others the way you want to be treated". I have and I do.

In the last 3 years, just to give you a clue as to exactly the kind of woman my mother is, she has lost a sister, two brothers, lose her daughter to a drug habit, and now has had to raise my sister's children because of those drugs. And she lost her precious dog, Sunny and she has lost her husband, my dad, who were married for over 50 years. And if that isn't enough, she has kept a positive outlook on things and always has a smile on her face. She is my hero.

And mom, I will always remember your idea of Christmas. I will always remember all the times I was not the greatest of sons, but you were always the greatest of mothers. You have shown each of your children, unconditional love, even when they didn't deserve it. You have always been honest in your dealiing with any of us and I am most grateful for your unconditional love of me, because of that, I have been able to use my wings and be able to do anything I wanted.

Tom