happy birthday mum

today i was telling a friend that one of the greatest lessons i've learned from my mother is to always give people the benefit of the doubt.

i've realized that i'm sometimes quick to assume the worst...if someone doesn't follow through on something they said they would do i take it personally, if someone is late i might think it's because they didn't care enough to be on time, if they order water with ice and lemon for me a voice in my head might say with a whine 'why can't they remember i prefer room temperature water with lime'?

on the other hand the things my mum would naturally feel in each of these three scenarios is 'oh, they must have gotten caught up in something important. i'm thankful that we are all healthy and happy, this little thing can wait', or 'they must be late because they were helping someone in need - it's more important that they drive carefully and not speed, then arrive on time', and the ice thing 'it's so lovely that they thought about me when they ordered their drink...how lucky we are to have access to fresh, clean water'.

i know - a far better approach.

this is just one quality of the OH SO MANY that make her my hero.

i love you mum.

x