My Mom

My mom, ever-prepared, sitting with all our stuff at the amusement park

while we played with the kids!

• My mom is the kindest, most loving person you will ever meet. She lives her life in a way that shows her deep commitment to her beliefs. She is meticulously honest and taught us to be also, to the degree that we were never able to claim "found money" that we saw laying around anywhere without first taking it to a store clerk or other authority to see if anyone had lost it. She feels a responsibility to help others and has always "adopted" older people everywhere we lived and tried to help them with anything that they needed. As a matter of fact, if I had to think of one quality that perfectly summed up my mom, it would be SERVICE. As far back as I can remember, she was always babysitting, cleaning homes, making dinners, giving rides, inviting people to our Thanksgiving dinner, volunteering at church and school, helping friends get ready for garage sales, you name it.....she did it! My mom is a pro at sizing up a situation, seeing what needs to be done, and doing it!

• When I was in high school, she used to leave little notes (with candy) on my bed to let me know that she loved me. At the time, I was incredibly annoyed that she was trying to bond with me, but I ate the candy anyway! Now I appreciate her efforts to reach out to me when I just wanted to blend in to the woodwork!

• In college I mostly tried to support myself, but I remember mom slipping checks in my coat pocket when I came home for visits. One time I had mentioned on the phone that I wasn't going to Preference because I didn't have the money for a dress, and within 3 days Mom had mailed me a check for $80.....nevermind that I had never seen my mom spend more than $10 on a dress for her in her entire life.

• When I was a young married mom with a baby and another on the way, my mom convinced my dad that they needed to buy us a washing machine when we bought our first house so that I wouldn't have to go to the laundromat anymore. We couldn't afford a dryer, but I was so thrilled to have a washing machine that I had my husband string up a clothesline in the basement to hang dry our clothes on (it was the middle of winter in Utah, so outside was not an option!). A month later I lost my balance on a chair I was standing on to hang the clothes up; I was 8 mos. pregnant at the time. I wasn't seriously hurt, so I called my mom laughing about it to commiserate. Within an hour she called back with the offer of $250 to go buy a dryer to add to our laundry room. Until you are a mom yourself, you have no idea how valuable a washer and dryer can be! :)

• A few years later when I struggled with multiple miscarriages and spent many months on the verge of despair and depression, my mom rallied again and became my biggest strength. With empathy only a mom can provide, she talked with many friends who had been through similar situations to find the best way to support me in my struggles. I remember being so touched when I found out that she had taken the time to find out how I must be feeling. It didn't matter what she said or did, but it did matter that she had cared enough to try to help me.

• Through the years, Mom has been a listening ear and someone to bounce child-raising ideas off of. She has been there for me when I needed to cry and then lifted me back up by voicing her confidence in me and my abilities to handle whatever challenges I was facing. I would be lost without her guidance in my life and I count myself blessed to be one of her children.

I love you Mom! Happy Mother's Day!