Right now I’m sitting on the beach with the vast blue sea before me with the foamy waves rolling in over my feet. It’s just about 2 hours after sunrise, so the sun isn’t scorching quite yet. It’s a glorious morning, and I have a feeling that if given the opportunity, many would give anything to be where I am. As lovely as the scenery is, though, there’s a place I’d much rather be right now today. That place is Moline, Illinois. Not on a beautiful beach in Haiti, not on the peak of a mountain in the Dominican Republic, but home. You might be asking why. Well, today happens to be a very important day for someone very important to me. Today is my mother’s birthday.
Meet my mother: Bonnie Lee Imig.
There aren’t any words adequate enough to describe how wonderful she is; however, a few that will suffice are: kind, loving, generous, and patient. She, along with my amazing father, has raised four beautiful girls, and I can’t think of a time when she put her wants or needs before her daughters. Raising four girls is no easy task, and I’m sure it’s not cheap either. I think she’d never admit or even think of it as a sacrifice though. And although I’m not a mother yet, I appreciate all the motherly things she’s done in her life, such as: changing my diapers (when I was little of course, haha), feeding me meals that many times revolved around my picky food choice, putting bows and hot rollers in my hair, waiting a good 30 minutes (or longer!) for me as I try on only a few pieces of clothing, ensuring that she was present at all my choir performances, cheerleading stuff, and graduations; taking me along to the grocery store even if that meant spending a few extra dollars on something that would please me; sacrificing a car when ours needed fixing so that we could get where we needed to be; in general, keeping me well-fed, clothed, entertained, healthy, and many many more things that couldn’t be contained in a few short paragraphs, let alone a blog.
The thing I am most grateful for, though, is that she has loved me and the rest of the family with patient and unconditional love. A limitless love without any conditions. A Godly love. For that I could never say thank you enough. There’s truly no other mother in the world I’d rather have than you, mom. I praise and thank the Lord for this very special day, because on this day (I don’t dare say how many) years ago you entered the world. And because of the love that you’ve poured into others, therefore affecting who knows how many people, the world is a better place. So, if there’s anywhere in the world I could be today, it would be right beside you with the rest of the family, celebrating this joyous day. I hope your day is filled with love, joy, and peace…and cake and ice cream of course! Happy birthday, mom. I love you more than you’ll ever know.
