Michelle Vodrazka

Clearwater '26 family vacay ☀️

Congratulations on graduating Maya 🎓💕 I'm so very very proud of you and all you’ve accomplished. I know you’re going to absolutely kill it at Concordia over the next four years.

You’re crazy talented in everything you do, from academics, to flag football, to music. You seem to excel at everything you put your mind to. But what I’m proudest of is the kind, caring, beautiful person you’ve become.

Can’t wait to watch you take on this next chapter. Love you so much! ❤️

So proud of you, Maya ❤️ You are talented, strong, intelligent, athletic, and endlessly capable. I can’t believe the amazing young woman you’ve grown into. Love you and can’t wait to see what you do next! 🍒💪😘🏆

Today would have been my dad’s 90th birthday.

Five years ago today, I happened to see a restaurant called “Paul’s Daughter” and immediately sent him a photo. It felt like one of those little moments that makes you feel like we are all connected to the universe somehow. I will forever be Paul's daughter and he will forever be my dad. He will loved, missed, and remembered every single day for as long as I am alive.

Happy 90th Birthday, Dad. ❤️

If my mom was alive and saw me post this picture of her in the hospital, she probably would have been upset with me. But that photo perfectly captures who she was. That’s her doing her income taxes in the middle of a terminal cancer diagnosis. Yup, that was her to a T.

She was a proud, strong, intelligent, tough, independent European woman who survived war, communism, and moving to a country where she didn’t speak the language and had to start from nothing. She cared deeply about manners, always dressed properly, kept everything organized, took care of her things, and approached life in a practical, no nonsense way.

As a daughter, you don’t always fully see your mother as a human being with her own fears, dreams, flaws, and story until you grow older yourself, have children, and gain perspective through life experience.

One of the greatest gifts of my life was watching her adore my four children. They became the center of her world. I miss our summers at the cottage, jumping into the lake, evenings around the bonfire, and her homemade European cooking. God, I miss her cooking. The soups, the baking, the smells in the kitchen that instantly made you feel safe and at home.

And the gifts. She showed love through gifts and made every single holiday feel special. She never forgot one.

At the end of her life, the roles reversed and we became her caregivers. I know that must have been incredibly hard for someone so proud and independent. But being there for her in the final chapter of her life, as heartbreaking as it was, was one of the greatest privileges of mine.

And I would do it a million times over again. I love you mom and am missing you this mother's day and everyday 💔