I think my mother is wonderful. She is loving, caring and giving. She is smart and funny. She is an accomplished English  teacher, loved by her students. She used to be a nurse. She directs plays and writes speeches. She cooks and bakes. For all the reasons I've stated, my mother is a woman to reckon with but none of these are the reasons why I think my mother is a very special human being. Heres why.
    My mother grew up a devout Roman Catholic. Yet she managed to bring up daughters who feel free to question all religion and are blessedly irreverant. She brought us up without religious guilt. She brought us up to be free. To choose god, or to choose atheism  She believes, but does not compel us to do the same. When we read the Da Vinci code, we can dicuss it with her. We can discuss homosexuality, live in relationships and heartbreaks.
    We were poor when we were little. I know that now. The miracle is that I didn't know it throughout my childhood. There were many things we didn't have, places we couldn't go - but I don't ever recall feeling deprived. I never felt dissatisfied with our lot in life. Though money was tight, we were not brought up to obsess about it.
    My mother underwent multiple major surgeries. Think colostomy for about a year. I do mean major. And I do mean multiple, four or five I think. Was she brave? Of course. Is that the part thats special? No. We were never scared. We played in hospitals, by my mother bed. I remember drawing and doing my homework while my mother lay there with a drip attached to her arm. There are no negative connotations to that memory. It was just a part of our lives. And then it was over. How did she manage that? I have no clue.
     We're all grown up now and my mother has let us go. Just like that, making it seem effortless. The beauty of it all is that my sister and I always feel that she's there in our corner, cheering for us. She's there if we ever need to run home and hide under the duvet. What we don't feel is her interfering all the time. We don't feel her trying to mould our lives into appropriate shapes. We are privileged to experience the freedom that comes only with knowing that we are always, unconditionally loved.