Momma, a rainbow

"What do you give to the lady who has given all her life and love to you?
What do you give to the reason you are living? I could window-shop the world before I'm through..."

I guess David has it easy. All you want for your birthday/Mother's day is for him to sing that song. Other than that? You buy some trinkets throughout the year, we choose stuff to give to you, and that's that. No surprises. You get what you want and we go through the motions of gift-giving.
It's a very economic and practical system.
But I'm a sappy sentimentalist, and this year at least, I think you deserve something more.
So please pardon my lame attempt to give you a small "something."

Gosh, I thought writing for Aria was hard.

The hardest part is that, for the majority of my life, I haven't really seen you as a person. You have always been, first and foremost, my mother.
You were the mother who firmly sent me over to swim team and synchro in the summer, no matter how much I protested.
You were the mother who fought for my 2012 Swim Letter long after I'd given up hope.
You were the mother who insisted that we had to do 5 jobs a day (at least during the summer) before we got to go out or play.
You were the mother who drove me around to work, school, concerts, friend's houses, and anywhere else I needed to go.
You were the mother who forced me to practice the piano.
You were the mother who organized rec classes (still not totally sure what that even stands for, but we're going with it) and "music-garten" classes (or was it kinder-music?).
You were the mother who didn't hear the phone ring at 4am when I called for a ride home from the Freshman trip to Magic Mountain. (I promise that I'll get over that... someday.)
You were the mother who would stand firm against the school district, always fighting to get what was best for her children.

You have always been (and always will be) my mother. I didn't know you were a person too, until:
You joined a choir. Just because you wanted to and you had the talent.
You got a solo
You talked to me about some of your secret fears and dreads.
Every once in a while... you lost it.
I see pictures of the past, or hear you recount a silly joke you played on a guy's dorm.

Eliza, Aria, Melissa, David and I are the "fruit of your loins, right?"
Well, in the scriptures, it says, "By their fruits ye shall know them."
By this definition, I can say that you are a high-achieving, hardworking, talented, thoughtful, intelligent, and courageous soul.

"All that I am or ever hope to be, I owe to my angel mother." -Abraham Lincoln

I love you.
Happy Birthday.
...and I guess that's it. I'll add photos later.