Dear Friends,

May is a lovely month and a beautiful time to be alive. After all, April showers bring May flowers. All the April hustling and bustling to finish taxes is behind us now and it’s the last month of school, woohoo! May also brings my birthday, my mother’s birthday and Mother’s Day. Three more reasons to celebrate May. Merriment.

In honor of Mother’s Day, I’d like to take a moment of mindfulness to brag on my courageous and caring mother. We like to say we ‘grew up’ together since she had me when she was just 18 and my father was 21. They had been married only 11 months. In my humble opinion, that by itself was very brave. She was born in Arkansas and raised by her single mother, my Mamaw, in Calico Rock and then Memphis, Tennessee, which is where I was born. Her father was killed when she was very young (long story for another time). Her little family had it tough for a while, but she made good grades, cultivated a few good friendships and married young to a man who loved her dearly and still does. My sister came along four years after me and became my best friend. (That’s what sisters are for, love you, Tonya!)

My mother is one of those rare combinations of a loving parent who provides support, structure and boundaries, a giving mother who would do anything for her children and a comforting friend and confidante who stands by your side through thick and thin. She will speak her mind when it counts, but typically she reserves judgement and allows my sister and I to be exactly who we are, loving us unconditionally, even if she disagrees and even if we’re wrong. Of course, that hardly ever happens.  😊  She holds her tongue unless we ask her for advice. That is rare.

When I was about to start dating she prepared me and helped me go out with a handsome young man who was a bit older than me, because she liked and approved of him, even though technically, technically I wasn’t allowed to date yet. She has always looked out for her girls. Thanks, momma.

Just a few years ago, she took a horrific fall down a flight of stairs at the age of 78. We thought we’d lost her. She spent those early days in the hospital, in a medically induced coma, while our family, extended family and community of friends around the country prayed fervently for her recovery. On the third day she awoke and spoke. We were so happy; we knew we had her back. God is good. I praise the Lord that my mother is still with us as a wife, a mother, a grandmother, a great-grandmother and a friend to all who know her. That’s my mother. I love you, Momma. Happy Mother’s Day.

May God bless you and keep you,

Michelle Smith, Publisher