Before I Knew How to Love Myself, There Was You

You Were There

There’s something about a mother’s love that we don’t fully understand until we begin to meet ourselves.

Some of it looks like presence. Like being there… again and again… in ways that almost go unnoticed.

You were there.

Not always with the perfect words, not always with answers, but with something that mattered more

Consistency.

You were there in the mornings that came too fast. In the meals that made their way to the table, no matter what the day looked like. In the small check-ins, the glances, the quiet knowing.

You were there in ways that didn’t ask to be seen.

And maybe that’s the thing about mothers: so much of what they do becomes the background of our lives.

Steady.

Reliable.

Almost invisible… until you stop and really look.

And when you do, you realize just how much of your world was held together by that presence.

Because being a mother is not just a title.

It’s a badge of honor.

Earned in the long nights, in the silent prayers, in the moments of choosing to give even when there was little left.

It’s a road that isn’t easy, one that asks for patience, strength, sacrifice, and grace all at once.

And still… it carries a kind of beauty that can’t be replicated. A quiet, enduring beauty that lives in every life it touches.

Not perfection.

Not grand gestures. Just… you.

Showing up.

Staying. Being there.

And today, that’s what I want to honor.

The love that didn’t need to be loud to be felt. The care that didn’t ask for recognition to be real. The strength it took to be consistent, even when it wasn’t easy.

You were there.

And that was everything.

Happy Mother’s Day. To the women who wear this title with quiet strength, who carry its weight and still create beauty along the way.

You are seen. You are appreciated. And you are deeply honored.

A Note for My Mother

And to you, Tresha…

There are things I understand now that I didn’t before. Not because you explained them, but because I’ve lived a little more.

I see you in the way I handle things. In the way I show up. In the quiet strength I didn’t even realize I learned from you.

Thank you for being there in ways I didn’t always acknowledge, in moments I didn’t always recognize, but ones that shaped me all the same.

If I am steady in any way, if I am strong in any quiet sense, it carries your imprint. You don’t just deserve a badge of honor

You deserve a crown for all you’ve carried, endured, and given.

I carry you with me… in the way I move, in the way I stand, in the way I keep going.

And I hope you feel it, just how much you’ve always mattered to me.

Happy Mother’s Day, Mummy.

I love you.