Mother's Day

Mother’s Day! Today was my first Mother’s Day spent without my Mom or my Daughter to celebrate with. My first “alone” Mother’s day if you will. It was a good day, just different. My mother Carole passed away many years ago and still I miss her terribly. My daughter Alexandrea, well she is simply growing up, creating her own life and decided to stay in Utah and work over the summer so she can live in an apartment instead of the dorms this fall. So why blog this? Well without the usual Mother’s Day activities it left me with time to think and contemplate . . .

There are Mothers that we have that gave birth to us. I happen to think I had the best one ever. Mine taught me what being a good person was. She showed me through her actions how to be a friend, what true love looked like, and about sacrificing yourself for the happiness of your child/children. She also taught me one of the things I value most, how to be silly. That may sound strange to you, but to me it meant being comfortable in your own skin and liking the person you are on the inside. When I was a teenager my Mom would dance around the house (she called it exercising), she would sing and lightly tease my brother and myself. She would make us breakfast for dinner, she would watch old movies with me, and she would come up with crafts that used items like black trash sacks or old readers digest magazines. She was creative, humble, and more loving than any person I have ever known. My mother was a role model . . . patient, kind, and loyal . . . everything I want to be and more. I give her so much of the credit for the wonderful person my daughter Alexandrea has become. If you ask Alex she will likely say that I am silly. To me this is one of the greatest complements I could receive. I also hope I have done my mother proud in passing the wonderful traits I learned from her on to my daughter. I miss you Mom . . . every day and every day I am grateful for the woman you helped me become! Happy Mother’s Day!

There are also Mothers that we choose in our lives or they choose us. I am extremely lucky to have just such a person who stepped in after my mother passed away and offered up her love just as if I was her daughter. Sue married my father a few years after my mother passed away. She was one of the few true friends my mother had in her life. One of the only people I remember my mom buying Christmas and Birthday gifts for. She came into my life and gave love to my father and daughter. She accepted us all as her family. The people who step into circumstances such as this take a huge leap of faith. They jump in with both feet and often take more criticism than necessary. Sue has been a wonderful addition to our family and has taught us all how accepting a heart can be. I know that the term is “step-mother” however this gives a connotation that I cannot subscribe to, a feeling of a step away from being a real mother. Who says we can only have one mother? Mother in my opinion is an action and not a title. Sue has stepped in and taken on one of the hardest jobs in the world. Worrying, caring, loving, helping and accepting two additional children and two grandchildren. She has two children and several grandchildren of her own and chose to add us to her family. We are fortunate to have such an amazing woman in our lives and I am thankful each day that I was lucky enough to be blessed a second time in my life with a wonderful Mother. Sue, Thank you for being you and for everything you have done to help our family grow and heal! Happy Mother’s Day!

On Mother’s Day there is one other person who I have learned so much from that needs to be acknowledged. Without her I would certainly not be the person I am today. Alexandrea, you make being a mother a very rewarding experience. You have taught me more in your nearly 19 years than I could ever list. You are the reason I work at being a better person and often the reason I accomplish my goals. Because of you I am a college graduate, I have learned to take risks, and have found much more joy in everyday life. Thank you Alex for being such a wonderful daughter. I am proud everyday to be your mother! One day I hope you have children who will tell you that they think you are silly . . . and I hope you will say you got that from your mother.