Saturday Night Serenade–Happy Mother’s Day!

So many moms are on my mind this weekend.

Obviously my mom, who raised me, taught me right from wrong, and continues to love me to this day.

And I’m the mom of two tall, red-haired men, one who recently fulfilled his commitment to the U.S. Air Force, and the other, happily married and working for a software company.

I think of my friend Jan, the single mom of three, including a teenager with profound autism.  I call her the most bad-ass mom I know, and she is.  I don’t know how she does it.

Then there’s Lynn, whose son died on her sofa from a drug overdose a year ago to the day.  I can’t imagine her pain as she continues to mourn.  I don’t think you ever recover from that.

I believe our friend Eric qualifies.  His wife died after a courageous battle with breast cancer when their daughter was three.  Eric stepped into shoes too big for anyone to fill.  He deserves Mother’s Day AND Father’s Day.

Our good friends Susan and Lori just adopted a beautiful baby boy.  We had lunch with them recently, and they recounted the story of how Freddie became theirs.  They’d adjusted their expectations, looking forward to adopting an older child, when fate intervened, bringing them this gorgeous blondie with huge blue eyes.  It will be a happy Mother’s Day at their house.

And my niece Lauren just had a beautiful baby girl, Riley.  Which is crazy, I remember Lauren was born.  Now she’s planning a wedding for herself and her fiance in the next year.

Families come in all shapes, sizes, and colors.  I think the defining factor is love.  Which we need more of in this world.  So it’s good to celebrate mothers.

Tonight’s serenade is Because You Loved Me by Celine Dion.  It’s meant to be a romantic love song, really.  But I’ve heard it in the context of Mother’s Day, and I think it fits.  I’ve included the lyrics below, and full disclosure, I changed a couple of babys to Mamas.   So sue me.  Not really, I’m poor.  All you’ll get is a mountain of debt and a floppy-eared German shepherd.

I hope you’re having a wonderful weekend.  Be sure to hug those you love, especially all the mothers.

Happy Mother’s Day!

“Because You Loved Me”

For all those times you stood by me
For all the truth that you made me see
For all the joy you brought to my life
For all the wrong that you made right
For every dream you made come true
For all the love I found in you
I’ll be forever thankful Mama,
You’re the one who held me up
Never let me fall
You’re the one who saw me through through it allYou were my strength when I was weak
You were my voice when I couldn’t speak
You were my eyes when I couldn’t see
You saw the best there was in me
Lifted me up when I couldn’t reach
You gave me faith ’cause you believed
I’m everything I am
Because you loved meOoh, Mama

You gave me wings and made me fly
You touched my hand, I could touch the sky
I lost my faith, you gave it back to me
You said no star was out of reach
You stood by me and I stood tall
I had your love, I had it all
I’m grateful for each day you gave me
Maybe I don’t know that much
But I know this much is true
I was blessed because I was loved by you

You were my strength when I was weak
You were my voice when I couldn’t speak
You were my eyes when I couldn’t see
You saw the best there was in me
Lifted me up when I couldn’t reach
You gave me faith ’cause you believed
I’m everything I am
Because you loved me

You were always there for me
The tender wind that carried me
A light in the dark shining your love into my life
You’ve been my inspiration
Through the lies you were the truth
My world is a better place because of you

You were my strength when I was weak
You were my voice when I couldn’t speak
You were my eyes when I couldn’t see
You saw the best there was in me
Lifted me up when I couldn’t reach
You gave me faith ’cause you believed
I’m everything I am
Because you loved me

You were my strength when I was weak
You were my voice when I couldn’t speak
(My voice.)
You were my eyes when I couldn’t see
You saw the best there was in me
Lifted me up when I couldn’t reach
You gave me faith ’cause you believed
I’m everything I am
Because you loved me

I’m everything I am
Because you loved me