May 4, 2021 — Since we’re now five sleeps before Mother’s Day, we’re betting that — Cardies being Cardies — all the cards to moms you admire are already in the mail. So today we’re writing to encourage you to sit and have a rich Cardthartic Experience before Sunday: Write a little tribute to share with your mom, whether she’s here or in the heavens.
For inspiration, we’re sharing this beautiful mom tribute written by Contributing Cardie Valeria Lento Palmertree (see pretty lady with card she wrote above :) Val has no doubt about all that her late mother means to her! As you’ll see both in her beautiful tribute and the seven amazing cards she authored below, Valeria writes from her huge and eloquent heart. May we all do our mothers as proud as Valeria does hers.
“And just like that, there she is …
in my head, in my thoughts,
in that spirit that far transcends
the length of her life.”
If Mother’s Day celebrates mothers, then mine is just as worthy of the celebration. After all, there is a momma in my life, and while she no longer has any use for cards or gifts, she’s worthy of a day that celebrates and honors the 29 years she so unselfishly and lovingly devoted to that role. It’s the mother role she took on so proudly and committedly that has so deeply marked who I am and, perhaps, who I will be as a momma myself one day.
Oh where to begin? My mom never had much. She didn’t graduate high school and never had the chance to own her dream home. When I was 13, I promised her a diamond ring when I “make enough.” I never got around to delivering on that promise. Diamond rings and education lacking, she was the classiest lady I know. She taught me the importance of well-manicured nails and a “pop of turquoise” and made Kmart and JCPenney duds (her go-tos) look like a million bucks. With her candidness and vulnerability, she made anyone in her presence feel like a million bucks, too.
I think it’s this pureness and realness that made her so loved by so many and allowed her light to shine through. She was transparent. You could look directly into my mom’s soul by simply looking into her eyes. She was terrible at surprises. If I ever had any doubts about anything, I’d look her in the eyes, they’d smile, and I’d know.
“If I ever had any doubts
about anything,
I’d look her in the eyes,
they’d smile, and I’d know.”
Seven years after her passing, I still feel that light here. So many kids grow up defying the traces of their parents in them. I’m the proud and solid reflection of her — music-chasing, food-craving, blue-loving, dog-obsessed crazy person that I’ve grown up to be – and I feel nothing but pride.
What a beautiful testimony to your mom. Not everyone is that lucky to have had a mom like yours.
Val captured perfectly what matters most in being a good parent/good person. It is not the degrees from school or the amount of wealth you accumulate that matters. It is the beauty that shines from within and the ability to shine that love on others with every ounce of your being. Every person should be lucky enough to have one person in their life that loves them as much as Val’s Mother loves/loved her.