Today, on Mother's Day, I want to share a few fond memories I have of my mother (pictured above with me as a baby on my grandparents' front porch). I remember when I was three years old, my preschool teacher had each of us make a handprint in plaster of paris (or something like that) and when it hardened, she spray-painted it gold and we gave it to our mothers for Mother's Day...my mother held on to this for many years, even when it chipped. I remember when I was about five or six years old, she was trying to teach me how to blow a bubble with my gum. Unfortunately, we were in the car at the time, and I didn't quite have the gum positioned just right between my teeth...and it went flying across the car at her! Instead of getting mad, she laughed! :)
My mother LOVED yard sales...and she still loves finding a deal! I remember getting up early Saturday mornings to go to yard sales with her...finding little treasures here and there, and just spending time with her. I think that's what I loved most of all...spending time alone with her. She worked for the telephone company...and when the office she'd worked for most of her adult life closed up in our small town, she had to transfer to work in a city that was an hour or more away from where we lived, so I didn't see her much during the week during that time.
My mother always wanted the best for us and she made sure each major holiday was one to remember! My brother and I would wake up on Christmas and Easter mornings (that is, if we ever actually made it to sleep in the first place!) to find quite the stash from Santa or the Easter Bunny. Now, as a parent, I realize what a sacrifice that was for our parents...but I think she enjoyed seeing the excitement on our faces as we discovered some of the very things we had been longing most for...and those items were always there! Those days were truly magical...even after we discovered the truth about who actually left the gifts! ;)
My mother had great dreams for her children...she wanted my brother to be a doctor and she wanted me to be a nurse. However, we didn't share her dreams...and we both became civil servants in our professions - my brother a police officer, and me a teacher! ;) But...she's getting part of her wish with my sister-in-law, who is currently studying to be a nurse - so, at least there's one person in the family in the medical profession! ;)
My mother has always called me her favorite daughter and my brother her favorite son...good thing she only had one of each! ;) Now, she calls my brother's wife Stephanie her favorite daughter-in-law and my hubby David her favorite son-in-law. She has welcomed both Stephanie and David into the family as if they were her own children and loves them every bit as much! :)
One thing is for sure...my mother absolutely LOVES her grandchildren with her WHOLE HEART! Every time I talk with her, she's telling me of something she is doing or has just done with my brother's boys...and I can sometimes hear her heart break that she is unable to do some of the same things with my boys due to the physical distance between us. But when we go up to visit, she makes sure to do something special with ALL of her grandsons! It may be a day at the park, a movie, or just having my brother's boys over for a cousin sleepover...and even pitching a tent in the family room for the boys to "camp in" together! And these boys sure do love their Gran, too! :)
I am blessed to have a mother who has taught me so much, who has stood by me even in the most difficult times, and who loves my boys with her whole heart! And so today, I want to say THANK YOU and I LOVE YOU, MOM!!! HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!! :)
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