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Happy Mother's Day, from Miriam |
hen I think about my mother, a thousand
things I love about her comes to mind. My childhood friends used to say, “Knowing
your mom is like knowing you,” even though she was many things I wished I could
be and wasn’t. I wished I had her stick-to-it-iveness. I would go gung-ho at an
assignment or project, and if I didn’t enjoy it fully, I’d let it fizzle out.
She would see something through until the end. I remember hoping that one day I
would have her classic beauty. During my employment at Maurice’s in high
school, one of the uber-popular Stevens High School girls I worked with (and was
therefore intimidating to my shy, homeschooled self) said, “That’s your mom?
Wow, she’s beautiful!” I remember thinking to myself on multiple occasions how
blessed I was to have a mother whom I could talk to about almost anything,
rather than the strict disciplinarians of some of my friends’ mothers. She
seemed to relish in motherhood and enjoy every part of it, even in the commonly
dreaded teenage years. And though I was never keen on kids or babysitting as a
teenager, my mother was the reason I knew I wanted kids someday.
There are a few things that I want to
express my appreciation for this Mother’s Day, Mom:
Happy Mother's Day, from Ben |
1.
Thanks
for bringing me into the loving and (honest to God) one of the quirkiest
families and extended families I know.
2.
Thanks
for all the Eskimo, butterfly, and fish kisses while growing up.
3.Thanks for sharing your smell-good Mary
Kay lip gloss with me every Sunday morning on our drive to church.
4.
Thanks
for hugging me, always, no matter what.
5.
Thanks
for reading Rikki-Tikki Tavi, Make Way for Ducklings, Where the Wild Things
Are, and Apples Snakes and Bellyaches about a thousand times to Chad, John, and
me during our childhood and never seeming to tire of it.
6.
Thanks
for not killing me on the spot when you found me in my room lighting Kleenex’s
on fire with a lighter.
7.
Thanks
for reading to us well into our teens, just after breakfast and before we
started each day of homeschooling. You have no idea how much I loved that.
8.
Thanks
for cultivating in me those things that I loved: reading, writing, and music.
9.
Thanks
for teaching me the value of meaningful relationships.
10.
Thanks
for teaching me to draw and paint.
11.
Thanks
for not scolding me too much and then buying me a safety razor when you
discovered I dry-shaved my legs for the first time when I was 9…Nine?? Hadessah’s
that age. Ugh!
12.
Thanks
for sharing all your shoes (when I could still fit into them), clothes, and
jewelry with me, and not getting too terribly upset with me when I’d lose them
or wear them so often you never got the chance.
13.
Thanks
for letting me negotiate Saturday chores more often than I should have.
14.
Thanks
for all the road trips, and singing at the top of your lungs with me, helping
me learn harmonies, listening to books on tape, and cleaning up chocolate milk
puke in the back seat without complaint.
15.
Thanks
for giving me direction in life, even though I don’t seem to have it anymore.
16.
Thanks
for loving me even when I’ve screwed up.
17.
Thanks
for being way too overly protective.
18.
Thanks
for attending the births of your grandkids.
19.
Thanks
for being a loving grandmother to them too.
20.
And
perhaps most of all, thanks for being an example of a great mother—one that I
don’t know if I could ever outdo.
This Mother’s Day, make sure you make
Jim slave away extra for you. Make sure he gives you the hugs and kisses your
grandkids and I can’t. Make him take you for a walk on the campus, and out to
eat, and let you nap. Pet Hoshi a lot. She’s a poor substitute for your family,
but I’m sorry, that silly asthmatic cat will have to do.
Happy Mother’s Day from all
1,291.33
Excruciatingly long miles away.
2 comments:
You say I always make you cry when we talk on the phone. Now you've gone and done it- you made me cry. You're right, I loved every minute of being a mom, and I still love you from the depths of my being. Mom
Very sweet!! Love your post! :-)
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