A Tribute to My Mother

20 weeks

(This photo does not reflect how HUGE my belly feels)

This was nearly 3 weeks ago. I started writing this post, and then was interrupted and never made it back to finishing it. Even though it's just over 2 weeks since Mother's Day, I still think this blog worthy.
------------------------------------

Today was my first unofficial official mothers day. I say that because as a mom-to-be I don't think I qualify to celebrate mothers day as a mother until I have a child that has actually been born. My husband and a few others disagree, so I got to celebrate for the first time. It was a lot of fun, and I have to admit that sitting in church listening to the talks on mothers, I actually had a new perspective to the whole thing and understood much more from a mother's perspective. I find it interesting that even though the little guy isn't born yet, I already feel such a bond to him and a love for him. Nathan and I were discussing that tonight--that I get to carry the little guy around 24-7 for 9 months. It's no wonder mothers are attached to their children!

So after thinking all day about what it means to be a mother and hoping I can teach my son all the things he'll need to know, I started thinking about my own mother (and grandmothers, aunts, sisters, friends, and other women who have helped shape and mold me into the woman I am today). As I was thinking about my mother I started listing in my head some of the things she taught me. I could also list the things my father taught me (most of them the same things), but seeing that it's Mother's Day, I decided that I would like to send out a tribute to my mother and put those things in writing so I can look back at them later as a mother myself and see how I'm measuring up. By all means, this is in no way an all-inclusive list, but just a few of the things that came to mind today...

Things My Mother Has Taught Me:

1. Unconditional Love - This is something that I didn't fully understand until I was a teenager/young adult. It wasn't until I REALLY messed up that I understood that my mother loves me no matter what and that nothing I do will ever diminish that love.

2. Patience - Any mother who tries to teach her child something new has some measure of patience. My mother was very patient with me and taught me so many things.

3. Faith in the Lord, Jesus Christ - My mother is an amazing example of what it means to live her religion. Day in and day out my entire life I have seen my mother serve our family, serve others, study the scriptures, kneel in personal and family prayer, hold weekly family home evenings, etc., etc. The list could go on. I know my mother has a deep, personal testimony of the Savior and his atoning sacrifice for each one of us. I can always rely on my mother's unwavering faith, no matter what trial is upon any of us at the moment.

4. Hard work - My mother taught me the importance of work by giving me chores in the house, in the garden, in the yard. She taught me that if I keep something clean and tidy, it will usually last longer and look like new for a very long time. Thanks to my mom, I am a bit of a clean nut. I also learned how to work hard, and to finish tasks. No half-way for me.

5. Play and Friendship - My mother also taught me that after work comes play. I have vivid memories of my mother playing dolls with me--she being the grandma. She was always very supportive of my imagination as a young child. I played with my dolls almost non-stop. In 1st grade I remember her letting me bring a doll to dinner and sit him in the baby high-chair. I also remember my mother singing with me often (I loved to sing), and doing all sorts of other things that I enjoyed. As a teenager and young adult, I knew I could talk to my mother about anything.--and I did. I always felt lucky to have a mother whom I could talk to. Not all teens have that. To this day my mother and I are very close friends, even though I live 1500 miles away. Our current favorite thing to do is "phone shop" together. One of us is usually running errands when the other calls, sometimes we're both shopping at the same time and we'll ask each other's opinion about things. Distance has not withered our friendship.

6. How to cook and clean - Mom made a big effort when I was in high school to teach me how to cook. By the time I left home I could cook many kinds of major family meals on my own. She also taught me the importance of having a clean home, and how to get it that way. It drives Nathan crazy that I still spend 2-3 hours every Saturday morning cleaning house. And if I don't I make up for it somewhere else. He can blame this 100% on my mother.

7. A Love of Reading - As a young child mother always read to me before bedtime. I recall her sitting in the hallway between my bedroom and my brothers' and reading novels to us. I couldn't have been more than 8 years old, and I remember one summer her reading all the C.S. Lewis Chronicles of Narnia to us that way. We used to make frequent trips to the public library as well. She would also usually allow me to order one book off book orders in elementary school, and helped me pick good literature all the way through my teenage years.

8. The Importance of Service - I remember being young and feeling down about myself. Mom told me that the easiest way to feel good about yourself is to serve someone. I remember Mom taking meals to families that had a death in the family, or a new baby born, or some other hardship. I remember her helping ladies clean their houses, or do laundry. I remember her saying that it was always much more fun to clean someone else's house than your own. She also started a tradition at Christmas that helped us serve our immediate family members for the whole month of December and keep Christ at the center of our celebration. She was always very supportive of my service projects as a teenager. I went through a stage where I was very involved in community service. One time I had a clothing drive and collected so many clothes for the needy that it filled the entire family room. She was excited to help me sort through them and take them to the shelter. She was also willing to drive me to the homeless shelter early on Saturday mornings to feed the homeless. To this day I love to be involved and serve others.

9. The Importance of Strong Family Relationships - My mother is so devoted to our family. She was a 100% stay-at-home mom my entire life. She didn't spend her time at home watching tv or being self-indulgent. No, no--Mom was ALWAYS busy spending time with her children. We had so many fun family vacations, family home evenings (every Monday night was family time), nightly family dinners together around the table...I could go on and on. She taught us the importance of attending a sibling's sporting event or recital. She taught me to reach out to my younger siblings and play with them, even when I was at an age when they annoyed me. I am so grateful for the closeness of our family--parents, siblings, in-laws, nephews and nieces. We have such a special family bond and always have so much fun together. That is the thing I miss the very most about living so far away from home. My parents, siblings, and in-laws are truly my best friends.

10. To appreciate Nature - Mom always had a vegetable garden and flowers. She loves to have the sunshine beam through her windows. She loves to sit in the morning and listen to the river and to the birds chirping. She enjoyed camping and being outdoors. She loves the smell of rain. A children's song from church comes to mind....

"I often go walking in meadows of clover, and I gather armfulls of blossoms of blue.

I gather the blossoms the whole meadow over; Dear mother, sll flowers remind me of you.

O mother, I give you my love with each flower To give forth sweet fragrance a whole lifetime through;

For if I love blossoms and meadows and walking, I learn how to love them, dear mother, from you."

I could go on and on with this list, but I'll stop at 10. Thanks Mom for being for being one of my bestest friends, and for being a woman I can look up to and want to emulate. I love you. Happy belated Mother's Day.