I have a confession. My mom and I don’t always see eye to eye. Sometimes we argue about whatever it is. An occasionally, we fight about it.

The other day, I was backing out of her driveway after a really nice visit and I thought to myself … when things get rough with mom,what can I do to make it feel more like this time?

And then it came to me – 3 things.

Before I share what I mean, I think that this blog post applies to any relationship that is important to you. When times get tough and you just want to turn and walk away or worse yet, confront … think of the three things you find most endearing about the other person.

And since Mother’s Day is just around the corner, I thought I would share the 3 things that I love about my mom.

• Mom takes is delighted by the little things in life and she takes great joy in doing little things for others. She’ll leave a little candy surprise for the paper boy or will drop off an orange for the lady at the bakery. It’s really sweet.
• Mom will do just about anything for an animal (with the exception of the pesky squirrels in her yard). She makes sure that the feeders are always full for the neighborhood birds to dine on. She has many animal charities that she contributes to. Mom often tells me that she wishes she had more to give. And her 4 legged companion found just about the best dog home there is.
• And lastly, just about every time I leave my mom’s house, she comes to the door, front yard or garage and waves good bye. It doesn’t matter how cold it is or how tired she is. Unless she’s laid up, mom pulls a hanky out of her pocket and waves.

These are my three things that I value about my mom. I’ll remember these next time we hit a rough patch.

Mom, you are the Olive Branch Blog’s biggest fan and I want to wish you “alles liebe zum Mutertag”  (very Happy Mother’s Day in German) by dedicating this post to you.

Jeanette (Nettie)