Writing about the gifts from a mom is a very intimate journey, and I encourage women to take that journey with love, courage and gratitude. When Mom died, I could only look at what I'd lost. When I wrote the letters, I was able to look at what I'd been given. I received far more than I gave her, and I was transformed by the process. That, all by itself, was a wonderful gift!

As Mother's Day approaches, what gifts do you most want to thank your mother for giving you? What lessons did she teach you that you find yourself teaching your children and your grandchildren?

Today, when I yelled for my daughter to help me with something, my grandson gently tapped me on the shoulder and said, "Gumma, you need to be patience!" I think that's a phrase with a lesson in it from Mom, passed onto Gavin. And I'll be she's smiling at her Type AA daughter hearing that message from her grandson!