Mother, there is no other

Grandma helping our little guy on his path

 I sometimes think about what my life would be like without my mother being a convenient 45 minute drive away and I have come to the conclusion that it would most definitely SUCK!  She does so much to help me in my week and having her nearby as we raise our son means that he gets to have this amazing relationship with her.  Little man loves going to Grandma and Grandpa's house, it is his vacation spot of choice. She takes my son once a week for an overnight so I can get 36 hours of uninterrupted work time in the studio and squeeze in a weekly date night with my hubby - I know, boy am I LUCKY!  She also sits down with me and talks about motherhood, researched articles on food allergies when I was having issues with my breastmilk, sends me links to sites about child development (not pushily, helpfully), and is always there for a good laugh.

My mother also gave me an amazing gift when I was growing up - the freedom to pursue my own path.    My mother (and father, he's great too) never pushed me to pursue her goals.  She always encouraged my own interests: enrolling me in the art classes I wanted, taking me to soccer practice which I loved, even letting me choose to go to an all Arts college when the time came.  My mother never hounded me about  homework or what extra curricular activities I was going to choose, instead she would ask about my life and let me share what I was interested in.  Even when I got a D in Latin because I figured it was a dead language and why bother learning it, she didn't get mad she simply asked what language I would rather study and told me to pursue that instead (which solved the D - always got A's in Spanish and still use it to this day).  I also believe that without my mother I would not have had the confidence to start my own business and pursue a dream.  She is my biggest cheerleader in this whole venture and when told me the other night how proud she was of how I have realized my vision it was one of the my best moments yet.

So this week I wanted to say thank you to my mother for helping me keep sanity in my life and allowing me the freedom to pursue my own path - there is no other!  Without her my growing empire would not be possible.

How about you - what makes your mother equal to no other?
I would love to hear your stories!