Son Pens Loving Mother's Day Letter To His Mom, Michelle McDonogh

EVERGREEN PARK, IL -- This Mother’s Day, Patch asked readers to tell us what makes their moms special and great. Daniel Lynds penned a beautiful letter to his mother, Michelle McDonogh of Evergreen Park. According to Daniel, his mom is a huge Patch fan. There’s still time to send photos of your mom and a nice message for Mother’s Day, which falls on Sunday, May 13, to shannon.antinori@patch.com.

My mom is Michelle McDonogh of Evergreen Park, IL. She is beautiful inside and out. She has five kids and four grandkids with a fifth grandbaby due in September. To her grandkids she is known as "Glamma" because she always looks so glamorous. Her heart for her family is so great and the sacrifices she makes for us so significant, it's truly remarkable.

With most of her kids and all her grandkids across the country (California and Texas), she is always eager to do whatever she can to ensure we can all make it to the family events, whether those be weddings, reunions, or graduations. Although she works full-time as a flight attendant, she gives of what little off-time she has by helping coordinate and plan how her kids can make the next get together, and she gives abundantly of her own financial resources by helping out with the purchase of airline tickets or hotel accommodations as needed.

My mom doesn’t want her kids’ busyness with life or their own financial limitations to be a reason not to be a part of a family thing. In a year without a family celebration (and sometimes in years with), she takes the time to fly to California and to Texas to spend quality time with her kids and grandkids. This is so special, yet so typical, of my mom. The expenses she has incurred to be with her kids and grandkids throughout the years have no doubt caused strains in her own life, but this is something she will never admit or even hint at.

My mom makes sure everyone connected to her kids by marriage and by friendship, are treated like family. Actually, she doesn’t just desire to treat them like family, she desires for them to truly be family, on the deepest and most sincere level. My mom loves people so much and wants them to know they are loved and valued. She makes the family space so comfortable and nurturing, that you hit the jackpot if you marry or befriend one of her kids. It is truly marvelous the way she treats people.

My mom is a prayer warrior. She covers me and the family in prayers daily and trusts in Christ to do the work that only he can do in our lives. I was a prodigal son, yet I have come to a place of repentance and faith and I know that my mom’s prayers underlie this. I know I have true life in Christ and that my mom is more grateful for this than anything else in my life.

The times I was joyless, she had joy. The times I saw nothing good, she showed me goodness. The times I was hurting, she had empathy. The times I was faithless, she persisted in faith. The times I did wrong, she forgave. The times I felt unlovable, she loved me.

I love you mom and I am so thankful for you. I hope you have the best Mother’s Day!
Love,
Daniel