This Sunday the world celebrates moms.    Moms near and far will be showered with love by their husbands and partners and children.  But if you are a mother who has left an abuser, you know that you will not be receiving a Mother’s Day brunch, card, or even a thank you text from the father of your children.  So, permit me to give you the accolades and encouragement that you deserve and that should be in your Mother’s Day card.

Dear Mom  –

Thank you for your Herculean courage, thank you for making us a better life. 

Thank you for making abuse stop with your generation, and not passing down the strife.

Thank you for doing the hardest thing that you’ll ever do, thank you for breaking our chains.

You were terrified, but you did it anyway.  And that’s the definition of bravery and brains.

Thank you for teaching me right from wrong, thank you for your wisdom and grace. 

Thank you for your patient instruction, and for letting me learn from your mistakes.

Thank you for showing me what strength looks like – no, not the brutish form,

But the quiet kind that comes from siding with right, and standing steadfast in the storm.

Thank you for making me thousands of meals and sharing your faith, which made me whole.

With heads bowed in prayer and served with love, you fed me body, spirit and soul.

Thank you for showing me what love looks like with your unending sacrifice for me,

And for helping me grow and protecting me so when it was time to leave.

May God shower his blessings upon you, his special angel sent from above.

For I am who I am because of you and because of your great love.

Love, Your Thankful Child