I just want to honor my wonderful parents.  I am so very grateful for the amazing family that God had me planted in; I am truly blessed and I never want to forget that… or them.

I was born as a baby-boomer in the 50’s, a time of blissful childhoods with unlocked doors, free to roam the streets safely even after dark, walking to school and creating neighborhood “shows” with kids of all ages, racing through the streets on bicycles in summer and skating on the river in winter.

We often didn’t have all the latest “stuff” and we were by no means rich by today’s standards. But my folks gave us so much more – the gift of an incredible, loving home that allowed for the balance of creative freedom and inspirational help with chores and responsibility – things that taught valuable life lessons I have never forgotten.

So here’s an open letter to my Mom, who lives 3 states away, but is always in my heart. ❤

To My Dear, dear Mommy…

I wish you the best of Mother’s Days as I think of you and celebrate you!! Wish I could be with you. I just want to honor you and say how much I so appreciate all that you have sacrificed through the years for our family.

I know that it wasn’t always easy to deal with us 5 “wild Indians” as Daddy used to call us, ha! You did a good job (if I do say so myself).

I know you would have liked to be home more and hung out with us on the beach like many of the other mothers got to do, but you sacrificed, working another full time job outside the home when we were in school, so that we would have the things that we needed — how wonderful is that! Did I ever really thank you for that sacrifice? Did I even realize it was a sacrifice at the time? Probably not.

In spite of that cutting into your time, you somehow always took care of us with clean fingernails and curls in our hair, always managed to have a good dinner on the table, AND stayed up late working on our school projects to boot. Through the years with your increasingly amazing seamstress skills, you sewed us incredible clothes (especially making sure we had something new for any special event), making coats in the winter, and play clothes for camp.

You created my custom wedding gown, from several patterns, and created in me (with much lesser skills!) the bent for understanding how to mend, alter, fix and otherwise make something out of cheesy Goodwill finds into a reasonably attractive outfit costing almost nothing. And looking back I have no idea how you even made adorable doll clothes (in your spare time!!)…. no patterns, just out of your head!

The house was clean and neat, our clothes were washed and ironed and folded, you grew a fresh garden of vegetables, and had a beautiful flower bed in the yard for us all to enjoy! It seems you rarely were rewarded, you didn’t get great accolades, you just did your job with love and care, and no complaining.

You literally never asked for anything. I remember Dad saying he had to buy you underwear at Christmas, because you would never shop to buy anything for yourself. There were 5 kids, and there was always some school, church or extra-curricular event that we needed something for. We always came first.

You were a Cub Scout leader come to think of it (although I obviously never got to those meetings, ha!)… my brothers’ troops needed someone. So there you were. You took them camping like a good Boy Scout, and I bet they never had such good food and were taken better care of. Let’s just say you weren’t military minded; your troop was pampered. 🙂

I can barely count the sacrificial times you stayed up late – when you already had SO much to do of your own – to type on our little metal typewriter, all 5 of us kid’s school reports as we grew; because you always wanted it to look excellent and hand writing it just wasn’t quite up to par. You were an amazing artist and often helped us to craft incredible projects that were the envy of all our friends at school! (truly they were.)

And forget Halloween time — the Hennessey kids had the best costumes, courtesy of your flare for the almost forgotten art of actually hand-sewing/ designing, cutting, gluing, painting the most amazing inventive creations in the our small town’s parade! How did you do that?? It seems that seldom did a year pass when at least one Hennessey didn’t win a prize for the best costume. I think we grew to just kind of expect that.

But I now know what went into that dedicated, time-intensive and talented feat with my grown-up mind, and wow, did I take that way too lightly to have such a gift in my life.

You held out a strong faith, and I will never, ever forget, nor take for granted, how you tucked us into bed at night, reading to us  (giving me a life long love of reading by the way) with sincere prayer and hugs that squeezed out the day’s troubles.

You were always quietly doing for others, even with the limited amount of home time you had. You were a committed and preciously devoted weekly beam of sunshine in nursing homes — on your only day off (!) — and you continued that even after retirement and you were almost as old as most of the residents! Just because you wanted to; you truly cared.

Many may not have noticed your perseverance, sacrifices, and faithfulness; but I know God did, and your reward awaits you!

Quite a woman… and so much more – so THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, at this time of celebrating and remembering… I remember you. ♥♥♥ xoxo

Love you so much, Mom!