Tribute to My Mother With My Mother, Glenna Faye Rowland, in Indianapolis, IN at the 2015 National Grief & Hope Convention

Hi, With Mother's Day coming soon, I can't help but think about my mother and blessed I am. She is a phenomenal mom. She was at every one of my beauty pageants growing up which consisted of too many to count. Attended all my college football games watching me take the field on the dance team. She took me to Cheer practice, events & basically anything I needed a ride for. I'm sure she had to sit through a lot of boring birthday parties, but she was always there for me and still is. When we got our first family dog, Ric-Rac, we got him as a puppy and “She cared for him and loved him for many years until he died on Easter Sunday one year and it broke her heart and the entire family. Now she loves on her 2 dogs Batman & Robin. Yes, they are brother and sister. If I have any empathy, creativity and compassion, it's because of my mother. She taught be to be kind and be the best I can possibly be. She reminds me still today that I can do anything I set my mind to. I think it’s a combination on determination and stubbornness. My mom and dad also taught me what true love and devotion is. My mother loves my dad and she will do anything for him. I'm the oldest daughter and the middle child in the family and I guess one would say I am a control freak and hold down the fort in my family. I know so many do not have their Mother on Mother’s Day and I didn’t realize how painful that would be until after my Mom was diagnosed with Lymphoma in 2012. Like everything in her life she fought it and won. She chose to be positive, pray and just endure whatever she had to in order to live and continue the life God gave her. She is an amazing mother and her whole life is about her devotion and love for her family. She beat her cancer diagnoses and being a Mom myself enduring a lifelong grief journey after the loss of my 17 year old precious son Bryant, I know how important life can be and the people that surround us in our life today. She is deserving of this tribute and should be honored for her commitment to her family and her life. She gets up every day at the age of 73 and hits the ground running. I am so proud to call her my Mom! As J.K. Simmons said when he accepted his Supporting Actor Oscar, "If you're lucky enough to have a parent or 2 alive on this planet, call them. Don't text. Don't email. Call them and tell them that you love them. Thank them and listen to them for as long as they want to talk to you." Thanks So Much Tell the people in your life that you love them. Hug them and talk to them. Live a purposeful, passionate life and do it with confidence. XOXO, Cherie Rickard