Amanda Lamb: Mother knows best

Sunday was my second Mother's Day without my mother, but I remember what she said to me on Mother's Day 2012 like it was yesterday: "This is our last Mother's Day. We both know it. But please don't be sad next year, or the year after that, or any Mother's Day. Promise?"

At the time, I nodded, too overcome with emotion to answer her. I promised, but crossed my fingers behind my back knowing it was a promise I was unlikely to keep. Mother's Day 2013 was a day that I didn't want to get out of bed. Somehow, I did and went through the motions of receiving sweet cards and gifts from my children. My husband reminded me that after all I was a daughter and a mother.

This year, as the day approached, I dreaded it again, avoiding the Mother's Day card section, quickly turning the page on advertisements in magazines for the holiday or turning the channel when similar television ads came on.

But then I realized that I wouldn't really miss my mother any more or any less on one day than on any other. Mother's Day is just one day that we've designated in our society to honor our mothers. We go through the motions of honoring all mothers - good, bad and mediocre, whether they deserve it or not.

I try to honor my mother's legacy every single day of my life by recalling her wisdom imparted to me over my lifetime and putting it to good use. Many days I fall short of the mark, but some days I succeed. The further I get away from her death, the simpler my memories of her become. They are boiled down to the simple truths that she left me with, truths meant to guide me as I navigate the second half of my life without her.

So, as I move forward in life through what I hope are many Mother's Days to come, I do so with the notion that while some of us get just one day, my mother will continue to have my devotion 365 days a year.