Sunday, May 9, 2010

Ode To My Mother



* First things first: My best friend for the last 27 years. I remember being a teenager and reading a talk by Sister Hinckley where she said your spouse will love you but no one will ever love you like your Mother. I was a little disappointed and thought "No way." Way! And I wouldn't change it. My Mom is the best.



* This one time when I was growing up our monthly 'Life' magazine came to the house. It had a pictorial about the upcoming summer Olympics. Translation: nudy pic's of Olympians. My Mom threw that baby out of the house and cancelled her subscription. At the time I thought it was a little extreme. Now I think "What a Mom!" Led us by example. Protected her family and home. Perfection!


* One of my favorite things: She never pretends to be perfect. She is upfront about her short-comings and doesn't pretend to be something she's not. She lets us see her hunk of marble be worked into something beautiful. I call it: Gospel In Action. I think she's pretty darn amazing.


* I don't know anybody else funner to "do lunch" with. She just makes it fun. Like, perhaps the highlight of your day when you get to do it. And my, but the Costco food court is delicious when you've got somebody awesome to be with.


* She loves my Dad. She has worked really hard for more then thirty years to make our home happy and our family strong through their relationship. And she's still working at it, because she knows you can never stop working at it. I credit every ounce of the commitment I feel for my own husband to her: she taught me how to be that committed. Every day. Even when you'd like to kill them.


* My family is a clan. For real. I shall call her "Clan leader." Because I got my ability to punch anyone in the face if necessary from her. And I find that very, very valuable. She is a strong, capable woman. She doesn't wear the pants. She turns the neck. Gracefully.


* I never worked as hard as I should have to work around the house and lighten her load. I regret that to this very day and am pretty sure I always will, even though I know she doesn't hold it against me. I'd still like to say: "Sorry I was such a crappy kid sometimes, Mom."


* My Mother and I have been talking a lot lately about Father and Son's camp outs from when I was growing up. Because that always translated to "Best Weekend Ever!" for us. At least for me. She always made me feel so very special and went far out of her way to make it memorable and fun. Now I get to do that for my own daughter! In two weeks. And I can't wait. And it just wouldn't be the same if she wasn't there to share it.


* My Mom always worried so much that she wasn't doing enough or couldn't give us enough when we were growing up. What she doesn't realize is everything she did do gave us a perfect childhood. I wouldn't change one thing. Ever. I consider my childhood one of the greatest blessings of my whole life. I was protected by her. She was and is a powerful nurturer.


* Here's why K.J. loves Grandma A: "I love Grandma so much because she comes to McDonald's for lunch with us!" And Livi says "Because! And I want to make her a crown." We all love Grandma because she's just too cool for school. I'm so grateful she's my Mom.


Happy Mother's Day, Mom! We love you!

1 comment:

Ducksoup said...

happy mother's day to aunt jill. she is one of my favorite mom's on the planets. no wonder you are so cool marie - - how could you not be with a mother like that. she always makes me feel like a million bucks. i like that lady. beautiful tribute.