My Mom

The first memory I have of my mother was standing in the bathroom while she brushed my hair.  I think we may have been headed to Hills.  Remember Hills?  If you grew up in Anderson in the 80's, I'm sure you do.  I don't recall much about our frequent shopping trips there other than they had layaway and enormous soft pretzels.  We'd plan those shopping trips a week in advance.  She'd say something like, "I'm off a week from Wednesday.  We'll go there and put your school clothes in layaway."

I think I was a good kid.  The only trouble I ever gave my mother (and I'm sure she would agree with me) was with my sassy mouth.  Yes, I know...other than that awful backtalk, I was near perfect.  She'd tell me that, too, as did my great grandma.  Gram would say, "It's not nice to talk to your mother that way."  It wasn't until years later, I realized two very important things.  Number 1: I'd regret those awfully sarcastic and defiant verbal tantrums someday.  And number 2:  Being a parent now, I realize how badly I must have hurt her.

When you have a mother like her, you learn so much more than the basics.  Yes, she taught me things like chew with your mouth closed, say please and thank you, how to wear makeup, do laundry, call when you get there, never to get into a car with someone whose been drinking, etc, but I took so much more with me when I moved out of that house.  She may not have known it, but she taught me so much more.  

If I could go back in time, I'd be more thankful for those Hills shopping trips even though lots of my friends were shopping at the mall.  I'd be more thankful because my mom cared enough to make sure I didn't do without, when maybe the extra money wasn't there.  Me getting those new clothes meant that she was doing without something that she wanted, but such words never left her mouth.  She was teaching me selflessness.  

She frequented my great grandmas house, sometimes daily, with milk or a crossword puzzle...sometimes because she asked, but sometimes just because.  She taught me how important it is to take care of our family.  

I can't count the number of times she worked evenings, nights and weekends, when she'd rather be doing something else.  She never called in sick and I can only remember one time she took a vacation.  She taught me how to work hard.  

After working all day or night at a job she didn't love, she came home and prepared meals, did laundry, and cleaned the house for a family that didn't appreciate her enough.  She taught me that being a mother isn't rewarding because your husband is kids say thank you.  It's rewarding because you GET to be a mother and wife.  Is there anything better?

I often joke about how protective she was over me.  The standing joke is that I was 16 before I could cross the street.  But now that I'm a mom, I GET IT!  I'm sure, just the same as I do with my kids, she wanted to cover me in bubble wrap and never let me out of her sight.  I miss my kids like crazy when I'm not with them and somehow she survived sending me on cross country trips with my youth group, to another country on a missions trip, and worst yet, to Florida with my girlfriends!  Can I apologize now, for the anxiety I must have caused?  It's too late?  Yeah, I figured.  

And even though I have been out of the house for so many years, she still pampers me.  She treats me to lunch often, watches my kids, just because, and often doggy sits when we're out of town.  She rarely says no.  I can't count the number of times Matt and I have come back from a date night to find her asleep on the couch after wrestling all of our Houdinis to bed.  And if too much time goes by between my requests for a babysitter, she springs something on me like, "Maybe I could take the kids to a movie on Saturday."  You're kidding me, lady!  I know that taking 3 kids to a movie is not only chaotic, but also expensive!  And isn't seeing us once a week enough?  Apparently not!  

For more than 10 years now, our family has a standing invitation to my parents house every Sunday for a home cooked meal and of course, ice cream.  The kids depend on it.  They cherish it.  Between us, I do, too.  I think one of the best gifts I can give my kids is a relationship with their grandparents, and my kids have some of the best, which is why I so highly value those Sunday dinners.  

So, Mom, I'm sure I don't say it enough and there are definitely no words to convey how amazing I think you are.  But thanks for being an incredible mother and grandmother.   I read something the other day that said, "Sometimes when I open my mouth, my mother comes out."  All I could think was, "I hope so."

Happy Mother's Day, Mom.