Some days I open my laptop to things like this:

And close it soon thereafter, aching to call my mother, to thank her for the beauty and the life that she has shown me.

And I know Marshall Davis Jones is speaking specifically to his mother, but the truth of the matter is that all parents…

…Are master gardeners.

They tend to every leaf,

Removing weeds,

Placing us in the windows of opportunity

So that we can lean towards the sun

And never forget that the sky is the limit.

Planting kisses on our cheeks,

Hugs on our backs.

Growing their love on us

The best way they know how.

 

Now, I’m lucky enough to have grown up with both of my parents, and would spell Father F-A-T-H-E-R, but I know many people who would spell Father similarly to Marshall Jones’ six-year-old self.

The parent-child relationship can be found with a Father or a Mother, or an Uncle or a Grandmother, or a Neighbor—read: not necessarily our biological parents (that’s just a box to check on forms).

So with that in mind, I propose a toast to the people in life who nurture us, cherish us, challenge us, and help show us the light in the best way they know how: our Parents.

{Here’s to you, mama and papa. Thanks for everything…}

 

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Editor: Renée Picard

Photo: Provided by author