Happy Birthday Mother Dear!

Mom at her birthday party two years ago.

It's our Mom's birthday today. We are pretty grateful when these roll around each year considering that just over 2 years ago we almost lost her and didn't get to celebrate any more of them. You see, two years ago in February our mother found out she had a brain tumor located behind her left ear. Within two weeks of discovering it they operated to remove it. The day after the surgery she suffered some severe complications which caused her to be in a coma for a week. She spent the next two months in the hospital recovering. We weren't sure if she would live and if she did we weren't sure how much of our "mother" we would have. You can read more about it here and here.

The top picture was taken over a month after her surgery and we were celebrating her birthday in the hospital. I hope she doesn't hate me for posting this picture but I think it will help people realize just how close we came to losing our mother and just how far she's come from that time. To see her today, you almost wouldn't be able to tell what she's been through. It is a great testament to me of the power of prayer and of the miracle of the body and the brain, it has been fascinating to watch her heal these past two years. We all loved our mother dearly before this happened but we are ever so grateful that we still have her in our lives today.

She is the kind of person who loves life and lives it fully, she works SO hard to regain her strength and balance and memory. She is so loving and kind and funny and spiritual. One nice thing about her since her tumor is I feel like she is more thoughful now (not that she wasn't before, but everyday life was more in the way prior to her tumor, and post-tumor she realizes how truly fragile life is). She goes out of her way to tell people how much she appreciates and loves them, and personally I think she's a better listener (granted- she may not remember what you said the next day... haha! Just a little teasing since her memory isn't as great as it used to be).

One of the things that I love the most about my mom is how understanding she is of me. She knows exactly what it is like to raise a large family and deal with all the struggles and trials that can bring and she is the one person in my life who gets me. Thank you, Mom! I love you more than you know and I am so deeply grateful you are still here with us, words cannot even express. We Wright Girls are all who we are because of our mother. Happy Birthday Mom! Here's to many, many more! Love you!

Mom and Dad with me and my family this past Sunday. (Doesn't she look great? Don't look me and my huge belly, just look at my mother!)