Mothers

With Mother's Day this weekend, I thought I'd do a little post about Mothers. Fair warning, if you're not a Hallmark, sappy kind of person, you may want to skip it. :)

Mother's Day is a very important "holiday" to me. Yes, I'm going to call it a holiday. We celebrate St. Patrick's Day and Cinco de Mayo, so don't you think we should officially call Mother's Day a holiday? I think so too. 

Sorry, got a little side-tracked there. Anyhow, it's an important holiday for me because, well, I love my mom. We have the typical mother-daughter relationship that has seen a lot of up's and down's through the years. Any girl who says they've never fought with their mother is lying. Either that, or they have held in too many emotions over the years and they probably need a good fight with their mom. Ha! Ha! My mom means a lot of things to me, but I'm going to touch on that a little later in this post.
Another reason this Day is special to me, is that there are so many incredible women throughout my life who have served as important motherly roles.

Payton, 10 months with his sweet Grandma.

First off, my Mother-in-law. She is seriously the most giving, loving, thoughtful Mother in law you could EVER wish for. And I really mean that. She is always looking for ways to make the family happy (which includes Brian's brothers and his brother's family). She & Dad go out of their way to travel to see their grandchildren and make their time with them so special and memorable. She has always been so supportive of me and made me feel like I was born into their family, not just married into it. And what I really love most, is that she raised an incredibly sweet, loving, gentleman of a man that I have the privilege of being married to. I love you Mom!

My Mom, Aunt Linda, Me, Aunt Cheryl, Aunt Bobbie & Grandma

Then there are other family members of mine who have given me such wise Motherly wisdom along the way. I never knew how valuable the advice of other moms would be until I had kids. Both of my sister-in-laws and my Aunt Linda, Aunt Cheryl and Aunt Bobbie have provided such great perspective when I was struggling with parenting or marriage issues. Their view on life gives me a chance to step back from my own and say, "Wow, they're right. This is just a phase." or "Wow, I never would have thought of it that way." I love how my Aunts give me the view of "Enjoy this crazy, frantic time right now, because before you know it, they'll be grown and gone and you'll long for this time again." That lesson alone is truly priceless.

Brian & his Grandmother, Mary

Grandma Mary, Payton (26 months) & My Mom

Then of course there are my Grandmothers. The matriarchs of the family. My husband's Grandmother and my Dad's mother have both passed away, but they were both incredibly strong women in their own rights. They knew how to do things; like sew and cook and garden. They knew the value of a dollar and the importance of family. They had strong opinions about things and weren't afraid to share them. I loved them dearly and look forward to walking the streets of gold with them again someday. My only living grandmother is just the most amazing woman ever. We tease her that she has "springs in her butt" because she can't sit still! She's well over 90 years old and would still host everyone for Thanksgiving if we'd let her. She is the sweetest, most darling, beautiful woman and I am so, so fortunate to have her in my life. Love you so much Grandma!

Dear friends April, Claudia & Me - all pregnant together!

I have also been so fortunate to have a lot of girlfriends in my life that have served as motherly role models. From Bible study leaders to neighbors, and high school friends to people who have been a part of my life for only a short period of time... they have all instilled incredible strength, wisdom and love in me. And for that, I am truly blessed.

Resemblance is amazing.

Okay, back to my own Mom. Well, I certainly don't have enough time or space to write everything that I'd like to write about her. She is the most selfless person I know. She would do anything in the world for me. I seriously have absolutely no doubt that if I needed a kidney or a lung or something like that, she'd insist that I take hers. She loves with all her heart, and it's a quality that is very apparent to her friends and family members. Sure, we've had our blow-out, screaming matches  er, tiffs :) but we always work through them and come out stronger on the other end. Our relationship is the only reason that I would ever try for another baby... just to see if I could have a girl. Because there's just something about a mother-daughter relationship that I can't put into words. She's my best girlfriend, biggest supporter, best memory-keeper of all things embarrassing that I've ever done, favorite shopping partner, and best Mom a girl could ask for. I've told you a million times Mom, but I love you so much. Thank you for all that you are, the mistakes you've made, the lessons we've learned together, the countless times you've forgiven me, and the incredible memories we've made and have yet to make.

Happy Mother's Day to all my Mommy readers out there. You are so important to me, and I hope you have a wonderful Mother's Day!