To My Mom (and All Moms) on Mother's Day

Dear Mom,

So, it's Mother's Day again. Time for homemade cards, overpriced flowers, and well-intentioned clay creations. You have amassed a collection that would rival a Mother's Day Smithsonian, so I'm going a different route.

Thank you.

Thank you for being the kind of mom who listened to NPR in the morning, so your kids could absorb the fact that the world is larger than us. Because of that, I went out to find the world and bring it back for other people.

Thank you for being the kind of mom who never said that my gender had anything to do with the kind of job I had, the amount of money I would make, or the way I would be perceived. You, the tiny lawyer who could win a case with one hand tied behind your back. Because of that, I never thought about gender as a handicap.

Thank you for being the kind of mom who kept three kids on the right track. Between your full-time job, the house and the myriad of other events and activities that filled your already-packed day, I'm not quite sure how you did it. We’ve all grown up to do exactly what we wanted to do. Hats off, mom!

And finally, thank you for being the kind of mom who now sits with your grown children over holiday meals and admits how crushingly hard it was for you. Thanks for showing us even superwoman has a human side. Perhaps someday, I'll grow up to be like you after all.

Love you mom,

Elizabeth Hadley ("Don't forget you're a Kelemen too") Rich

(Editor's note: Thank you for putting up with this)