"Thanks... Bye, Mom!"

We were just on the phone a little while ago. It was something she has certainly said to me many times, but this time it just came over the phone line and went straight to my heart. "Thanks" and "Bye, Mom!" were the words my youngest, Kerri, had just uttered. I was immediately struck with a deep sense of gratitude.

I am a mother to grown-ups. :)

I've wanted this for so long, it is part of my cellular make-up by now. Losing my own mother when I was twelve is where it all began. All of the things I went through from that age and on and not having mom there... I wanted so much to be a mom, but not just to have babies. I wanted to be there for my children as they grew into adults.

Well, now my kids are 27, 25, and 21. I am filled with so much thankfulness that I am here and available to my kids. Sure, I have plenty of my own unique "mom-isms" and I'm sure they roll their eyes a lot when I am talking to them... that's all part of the package.

That's okay with me. I plan to stick around and enjoy this new time of life, when I am, in fact, a mother to grown-ups.

They bless my life more than they could ever know in words.