Dear Mom,
I remember the moment I stopped looking at my mom as just my mom.
I was sitting on the sideline at my sisters' lacrosse game, bored, playing with a blade of grass, when I heard a sudden crack, a gasp. I looked up. A girl on the opposing team had hit the ground. She clutched her leg and screamed so piercingly loud, my whole body froze. And I wasn't the only one. Every person - every parent, player, referee, and coach. We all stood frozen in shock, in panic.
But not my mom.
My mom became the only moving piece in a sea of stillness. She jumped up, ran straight out across the field, and knelt down next to the screaming girl. I watched as she calmly smoothed the girl's matted hair out of her face, as she brushed away her tears, and whispered something into her ear. My mom began surveying the damage to her leg quickly, yet so incredibly gently. Immediately, the girl stopped screaming, and when she looked up at my mom, the fear in her eyes melted. From yards away, I saw it. This stranger — this little girl — trusted my mom. She knew she was in good hands. I watched as that realization happened. She was safe now. And she knew it. I knew it. We all knew it.
Last night, my mom retired after 43 years of nursing. When I stop to think about my mom's career, this is the image that comes to me. Not one of her in her scrubs at the hospital. But this. Of her on a completely normal day, in everyday clothes, kneeling in the mud in the middle of a sports field, aiding a broken little girl in a way that only she knows how. This moment. When I viewed my mom as not just my mom, but a nurse, a superhero, a saving grace - an angel. I saw my mom's wings that day, watched them spread out and wrap around that little girl. I've seen them every day since. I still see them now.
Mom, you've faced realities no person should ever have to face. You've fought for other people, for their lives, when they couldn't, in the most terrifying and critical moments. Your strength, your knowledge, your kindness, your love is boundless and unfathomable. I have no doubt lives will continue to mend, and grow, and flourish around you. I am so proud of you. I am so proud to be your daughter.
Congratulations.