nataliesolis's Blog

   I am my mother's only child. For the longest time it was just me and her. She was a single mom who worked long hours, and even as a little girl I knew she was underpaid and overworked. Despite being exhausted in the evenings, she'd kick off her heels and I knew I had her full attention. No task was too big. There were all those hours she helped me with homework, the countless times she shuttled me all over town for activities and dates with friends, the meals she made, the house she cleaned, the sleepless nights when I was sick, and the steady flow of care packages when I was away at college.  I always knew if it was important to me, it was important to her.

   What was important to me as a kid was dance. I'll never forget the time my dance costume was at the cleaners and I had a performance that night.  The cleaners was closed and I was devastated. That was the beginning of our adventure. Over several hours and after a lot of desperate phone calls , my mom somehow managed to track down the manager of the cleaners at home. The laundry was done off site, but my mom convinced the woman to go hunt down my outfit from what I imagined was a warehouse facility with mounds of dirty clothes. We eventually met the woman in a movie theater parking lot on the other side of town and she pulled my crumpled outfit from her trunk. My mom and I left feeling like special agents who'd successfully completed a clandestine mission. 

   My mom didn't give up, even though I'm sure she would have preferred doing something else with her Saturday afternoon. She could have easily told me I'd be missing my performance, which in retrospect, wasn't really that earth-shattering anyway, but she didn't. What she did say is, "when you have a child, I expect you to do the same for them." And because of her example, I will.  

I love you, Mom.

 And to all the moms out there who always go the extra mile....Happy Mother's Day!