Amazing Mom...

It was one of those phrases that was heard a million times growing up in the Gahan household with 4 boys running around:


"Someday you'll have kids of your own and then you'll understand!"


Since we've had Grayson I must have said to myself a thousand times..."How did my mom do it?" Gray isn't even able to talk back yet and he certainly doesn't have three brothers to add to the mix, so it makes the fact that my mom survived raising four kids even more incredible to me...

She covered all the basics with military-like efficiency...a GREAT cook with a diverse menu, a time-management extraordinaire that got every one of us to every practice, meet, match, recital, etc...did laundry for the whole family and still managed to keep our kitchen floor clean enough to actually eat on it...I could go on and on. Really...she did it all, and she did it all WELL.

Lucky for me (us), she had way more than the basics covered too though... Unlike some of my friends growing up, I had a great relationship with my mom. I was never afraid to confide in her, even during my adolescence, is which pretty rare I think. I remember crying my eyes out on her lap after I screwed up a relationship with my first love. She was there supporting me in every situation I can ever remember, and I credit her with teaching me that I need to be myself to be happy, and that other people's opinions don't matter as much as I thought they did. If something made me feel good (like singing in choir and dancing or whatever), then I should do it, regardless of how "uncool" it was...that is a lesson that I've been able to apply in life over and over again, and I am a better man for it today.

While I was able to keep that relationship strong for so long, it did start to wain as I moved on into college and even afterwards. I mostly believe that it had something to do with me wanting to assert some independence, so I would be short with her or became easily frustrated when she pushed to help with something. From what I can tell now, it was for me at least, another phase of maturity that I had to travel through. Having a son/daughter of your own tends to make you reflect about certain things, and finding the perspective of a parent has been a big deal for me. It is the perspective that my mom warned me about on so many times ;)

I regret that I stepped away from you for that period mom, and while the geographical distance remains to be greater than either of us desire, I look forward to being able to talk to you when Grayson (and maybe someday his brother/sister) causes me to think..."How did my mom ever do it?"...

Love you,

Happy Mother's Day!