- Apr 29, 2025
My Mom. My Biggest Fan.
Mother’s Day is coming. It feels like the right time to tell you about my mom. I got lucky. At eighty-two, she is still healthy, sharp, and the person I call first. She has a softness to her, but also a quiet strength that has carried all of us. She is warm, selfless, curious, and genuinely kind. She makes everyone feel comfortable just by being near her. She has never complained and has never needed attention or praise to be steady. She simply is.
Her Beginning: A Life of Faith
Before she became a mother, my mom lived a very different life. She was a Catholic nun and a music teacher, pouring her heart into children’s lives. Over time, she began to feel another calling that slowly grew stronger. It was not a rejection of her faith. It was a deep, personal shift that called for reflection, prayer, and time.
She didn’t leave quickly. She went through a long period of discernment, including a full novena process, praying intentionally over many months before making a decision. It was thoughtful. It was faithful. It was hard. But eventually, she found clarity and peace in the choice to leave the sisterhood and start a family. Her faith didn’t stay behind. It came with her. And it quietly shaped everything that followed.
Family and Childhood
I grew up as the oldest of four children. Our home was busy, but it never felt chaotic. My mom created a sense of structure without ever making it feel heavy. She kept us connected to each other and to the larger circle of cousins, grandparents, aunts, and uncles. Summer trips meant gathering at my grandparents’ house, playing cards late into the night, big family meals, and sleeping bags stretched across the floor. It was a kind of belonging that I did not fully understand at the time but feel deeply now.
We lived most of our early years in a small town and country neighborhoods. Our years in Hood River were filled with bike rides, blueberry picking, county fairs, and a kind of open, safe freedom that kids today might never know. It was not glamorous, but it was so good. It was real. It was the kind of richness you do not buy, the kind you are lucky to be given. My mom had a lot to do with making it that way. She gave us room to grow while keeping us anchored at the center of something bigger.
The Loss That Shaped Us
In 1992, we lost my brother, Eric, when he was just eighteen years old. There is no way to soften a sentence like that. He was my little brother, my sister Lori’s twin, my sister Kelly’s big brother, and my parent’s only son. It rearranged everything. It changed how time moved. It changed how we moved around each other. Watching my mom live through that kind of loss changed me even more than feeling my own grief. She kept going. She did not pretend. She did not collapse. She stayed with the pain and stayed with us. Her strength was not loud. It was not performative. It was steady, and it was real.
Always There, Always Mom
Through every chapter of my life, her presence has been steady. When I struggled with anxiety, she showed up. She came and sat with me, quietly, without trying to fix anything. When my babies were born, she cared for them with the same gentle hands she used to raise us. She never asked for anything in return. When my marriage ended, and everything I knew fell apart, she stood by me with calm and love. She never judged. She simply stayed. There is a kind of love that speaks louder through presence than through words. My mom has lived that kind of love.
Building New Roots
As life moved forward, I left Oregon and built a new chapter in California. When Rich and my two stepchildren became part of my life, my mom embraced them immediately. She made handmade Christmas ornaments and stockings for them, carefully embroidering their names. She never called them step-grandchildren. They were simply her grandchildren from the beginning. My parents still visit us multiple times a year. They have prioritized travel, not for adventure, but to stay connected to family and stay young at heart. Their presence remains one of the greatest gifts in my life.
Still Connected, Still Growing
We live far apart now, but the connection has never weakened. We talk often, our conversations bouncing between updates on health, family memories, new research, and old jokes. She continues to learn and grow. She reads. She asks questions. She sends articles and thoughtful insights about the same clean, crafted, conscious values I am building into Laguna Happy. Staying curious has become part of how she lives fully.
Our family still teases her about "cheating" at cards, a joke she always protests. And whenever she says, "Pack your bags," we know we are about to take a Catholic guilt trip. We all laugh, and somehow, we are all a little closer because of it. Those small things, built across decades, hold us together.
For Mother’s Day
My mom has never needed a title or recognition. She has shaped so much simply by being who she is: steady, loving, and true to herself. She raised four children with quiet strength, deep faith, and a kind of grace that never asked for attention. She continues to lead by example in how she lives, how she stays curious, how she shows up, and how she loves.
As I built my new company, she was my very first customer. She is still the top customer. Still my biggest fan. That kind of support stays with you. In honor of my mom, I’ve pulled together a few gift ideas I think she would love. Maybe they will speak to a mom in your life too.
Mother’s Day is one date on the calendar. What my mom gave us continues every day of every year. Happy Mother’s Day to my mom, Mary, and to all the moms and mom-figures out there. You have the bests job in the world and are loved and appreciated.
And don’t worry, Dad. Father’s Day is coming soon and your story is next. :)
🩷 A few of our favorite things for Mom 🩷
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