Dear Mom,

Three letters. Intended to sum up, in a title, everything you are to an entire family. Well, Lynda Smith Swann…three letters are hardly enough. Because you are so much more than “Mom” to us.

For 37 years, you have given us your unconditional love wrapped up in an unwavering commitment to our joy. You managed to balance your commitment to family alongside your passion for your career. Growing up, it was never one or the other – you managed both. Perfectly. Seamlessly. Elegantly.

It’s impossible to summarize every lesson you instilled in the two of us. So, your eldest daughter and I have compiled a top twenty list…a nod to just a few of the many things you’ve given us in your life as a mother. Here we go….

Thank you for:

1. Encouraging the importance of prayer – over every part of life.

2. Teaching us to dream bigger than our coloring book and hang on to the playfulness of childhood…forever.

3. Blessing us with your radically awesome dance moves.

4. Fiercely loving your husband, prioritizing your marriage above us, and encouraging a father-daughter trio of adventure at all times. (Exemplified in your continued enjoyment of Halloween).

5. Embracing failure and teaching us how to smile through it…and move on.

6. Steadfastly promoting the value and endless joy…of matching velvet outfits.

7. Leaving a city you loved to move us to a beautiful small town with the greatest neighbors on the planet.

8. Instilling in us a deep and abiding love for Carolina Basketball, and the one who taught us to cheer.

9. Random but wonderfuls, belgian waffle buffets, and matching pajamas.

10. Instilling in our hearts the joy that comes from a life lived in real community with the ones we love most.