A Mother's Love

This is a picture of my mother. Her name is Esther. My mother always loved her name because she was told she was named after Queen Esther in the Bible and she felt very honored to be named after a Queen. That's probably the reason why she has chosen to live her life as a Queen, well, at least in her opinion!! This picture was taken on my mother's 80th birthday.

I have always been very close to my mother - probably the closest to her of her three daughters. We always understood each other and could talk for hours and hours. When I was a young girl in high school, my friends could never understand how I could have such a close relationship with my mother. She was always my best friend. I always felt I could tell her anything and she would always give me tips and hints on make-up, fashion and homemaking, but never on cooking. My mother always hated to cook and never made a secret of that fact.

We would always have fun together. We could laugh and laugh and we enjoyed doing the same type of things, like talking, shopping and going out to eat!! She would always have to have "just a taste" of whatever I was eating even though I detest anyone eating off my plate.

I always knew my mother and I had a very special bond, though I never realized the depth of her love until I became a mother. From as far back as I can remember I always wanted to be a mother and I always wanted a little girl so I could hopefully have the same relationship with my daughter as I always had with my mother. Fortunately, I was so blessed.

At the conclusion of elementary school, we had a traditional graduation ceremony with a cap and gown, yearbook and class ring. When I graduated 8th grade, I asked my mother to sign my year book. My mother wrote, "This above all, to thine own self be true". Initially I did not understand the significance of those words. Now they mean so very much to me and those words guide me in my daily actions.

Mothers can play such an important role in our lives, especially in those formative years. I thank my beautiful mother for giving me such a wonderful start and for showing me how truly wonderful a mother's love can be.