Lioness

Strong like a lioness, she fought scorned and alone through the day. She fought through her thoughts, danced through her job going here and there rapidly, difficultly, till finally she came home to her selfish cubs, lovingly listening to their tales. We, to her, was her greatest joy. Her, to us, was our hero, though not then. We thought we were above showing love and appreciate. Yet she loved us without it. She loved us when she didn't yet love herself. She was a goddess, like Hera, working to keep our family up and running when we were abandoned.

She worked hard and eventually her dancing became more like swimming through a river. She was pushing through a current to give her all to us. Her job was difficult before, but exhaustion started to show. Other than her three cubs, she was alone and her loneliness started to . She was struggling, not to support us but struggling with the feeling of being a bad mother. She spent most of her days at work and came home exhausted. She still listened to our rantes and praises but she felt like she didn't really know us anymore. And she didn't. But she had to make a choice: spend time with her children or provide for them. She made the choice to work long hours to not only provide for us but to earn enough money for us to stay in our childhood home. She wanted our lives to stay as normal as possible even as hers got more and more difficult. It's a choice she's struggled with since.

Each step she took to care for us seemed to bring her further and further away from knowing us, and us knowing her. Still, she fought like a warrior to keep us afloat. She danced with life the most beautiful tango. Each step made with a purpose, both moving fast. Each obstacle life through at her, she twirled around. Nothing could stop her. She was going to put everything she could into raising us. Eventually life through an obstacle at her that she couldn't dance around.

Six months after her divorce she had a cancer scare. She worked more shifts to pay for tests. Each day she came home, scared and exhausted, with a smile on her face. She wanted to protect her cubs, so she did everything she could to keep us from knowing. Unfortunately, it was cancer and she had to have it removed. Luckily it was benign and once it was removed she was alright.

During this time she met a wonderful man at work. He was funny, kindhearted and did everything he could to make sure we had what we needed. He made sure to tell her she was beautiful. She finally got to relax. After he moved in she started taking less shifts so that she could spend time with his again. It was almost like meeting strangers for the first time. We had no idea what to say or what each individual enjoyed. We started off eating dinner together, then we added games and finally we have a tradition that continues to this day. My mother and myself cooks for the family and as we eat we play games. We end up playing for hours now, each of us just as competitive as the others. We have never been closer.

I love my mother. She has given up her life for me. I admire her. She has had every chance to give up and she never did. She's like a lioness, strong, protective and brave, and I'd be lucky if I'm half the woman she is when I grow up.