Sunday, May 9, 2010

The One Who Birthed Me

Happy Mother's Day!!! In celebration of this divine day I wanted to tell you all a little about my mom and 15 reasons I am blessed to have her in my life. Warning: The first two reasons are pretty graphic so be fore-warned.

1. She brought me here. She was willing to give up occupant space for 10 months and do something really difficult so I could be in my family and be ALIVE. What a great mom.

2. PUKE! Gross I know but, all growing up whenever we were sick and threw up or other things in random places she always cleaned it up. I never fully grasped this until a couple of years ago when I had to clean up a friend's throw up. It. Was. Disgusting. I now know that my mom didn't have to do that. I know plenty of moms who didn't. And she never complained or anything. She just did it.

3. Going along with number 2, she always let me sleep with her when I was sick. To those of you who have ever been deathly ill, hopefully you know there is nothing like a mother's care and being able to be close to her when you're sick. Having her next to me always made me feel better and taken care of. Even when I WHINED for HOURS about how bad my stomach hurt, she endured and allowed my germy, complaining self into her room.

4. The best happy dance ever. When my mom gets really excited her little legs get going and she sort of jumps up and down and does half way between a squeal and a giggle. If you've ever seen this, you know what I'm talking about. Her happy dance, as I like to call it, has always brought a smile to my face, even if my eyes were rolling as a snotty "mature" teenager.

5. Her glasses face. My mom recently got glasses and sometimes they fall down on her nose slightly. Instead of pushing them up, she'll bend her head backward to be able to look through them. That look with her tilted head and magnified eyes (because the glasses are farther from her face) makes me smile.

6. Her hands. My mom has very distinct and unique hands. They are strong and worn from years of service to her family, children, church, and anyone else she could help. They are worn but still going strong. I remember them often smelling like bleach or onions which shows her continuous service to her family.

7. The pool. Every summer of my entire life we had a refreshing, fun, clean pool to swim in because of my mom. She wore herself out every summer taking care of the pool. Some of my greatest childhood memories are in that pool so how grateful I am for that blessing.

8. Her harmony. My mom is an awesome alto. I loved listening to her harmonize to hymns in church or songs on the radio or tunes I played on the piano. I love that about my mom.

9. Her hair. I love that my mom doesn't have "mom hair." Not that there's anything wrong with mom hair, but I always loved my moms longer locks which she let me play with for hours upon hours my entire childhood. And often still does.

10. Summer cookin'. Every summer I remember coming in from playing outside or watching my dad garden to my mom standing next to the stove cooking dinner for us. It was one of those consistent things that I knew when came inside, that's where she'd be.

11. Canning. My mom took weeks out of her summer every year to make sure we had yummy veggies to eat throughout the year. I still think my family's green beans and sweet corn are the best.

12. I can talk to her. I pretty much tell my mom everything. Sometimes I'll call her about 10 times a day to tell her what going on or about things that got me excited. Sometimes she answers and says "What is it this time?" when I'm calling for the fourth time in one hour. But she always answers. And I know she will always be willing to lend an ear to listen to my random stories, my heartaches, and my joys. Because she's my mom.

13. Her patience. My mom has put up with a lot in raising her family. Especially from me. I am not the most patient person and I know I have done and said hurtful things to my mom throughout my life. But she goes on loving me. She keeps giving all she has physically, emotionally, spiritually, and temporally to her kids and husband no matter how bad we make her feel by our thoughtless or blatantly unkind words and actions. She rarely got angry or said much back. How she held her tongue, I'll never know. I think that is a real talent.

14. How much I'm like her. I think out of all my siblings, most would agree I am most like my mom. I think we have a lot of the same mannerisms and habits. Hopefully this will continue and I'll be as great of a mom as she has been.

15. Her "just do it" attitude and lifestyle. Growing up, my mom would bear spontaneous testimony of the things she is grateful for her life. But, the way I knew of my mom's testimony most was by watching and seeing more than listening. There are lots of things that she just does because she knows its right. She does complain or even really think about it, she just does it. When I was little I always knew that I would go to church because that's just the way it was. As I got older and realized just because we, as a family, "do that" doesn't mean we have to. But, seeing my mom and her dedication I knew she would never put so much time and energy into something that wasn't true or didn't benefit her life in some way. She has a deep love for the gospel and the Savior and I always knew that even since I was young. I often walked in on my mom on her knees in her bedroom praying to her Father in Heaven and that taught me a great lesson. I knew she had a relationship with Him, so I could too. A mother's testimony is essential to the development of her children's testimonies and my mom had one of the largest roles in shaping mine. I'm so grateful she didn't slack off. If she did I know wouldn't be as happy as I am today.

So to all you moms out there: happy mother's day. You have no idea the influence you are having in the lives of those around you. Especially your children. And to my mom: thanks. You did a great job. I mean, just look at how awesome your youngest daughter is. You must have done something right :)
I love you mom.

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