Happy Mother's Day

10 Good Reasons Why I Love my Mom:

(I had to limit myself to 10 because I could go on and on all day long, but the kids can only nap for so long...)

10) She has always taken good care of her body; for as long as I can remember she has always been active, and exercises and tries to eat right. As a kid, I didn't appreciate these things as much, because that meant the only treats we ever had in the house were dried fruit, and we had dump spoonfuls of sugar on our cereal 'cause it never came with any on it! However, now that I am a grown up, I am so appreciative of the good example she has set for me in this because I feel like because of her I also like to be concious and appreciative of my own health. Not to mention the fact that she will probably live a long and healthy and productive life...what a priceless gift that is for her to give to her family.

9) She has taught me a deep appreciation for all things chocolate. And the fact that she likely learned this appreciation from her own mother makes me even happier to have become the 3rd generation chocaholic. (And yes, Allie is on course to be the fourth!) Like I said before, although we grew up without a lot of junk food or treats in the house, no one can polish off a bag of M&M's faster than good old Nana (sorry to expose you secret, mom, but you know it's true...!) In fact, when they finally came out with Dark Chocolate Peanut M&M's, we were both so excited we both went out and bought a bag, and since we were living 3 hours away from each other, we got on our webcams and ate them together. Pathetic, I know, but a memory I will always treasure.

8) Her love of music. Another thing I remember from my childhood, and that I have also come to duplicate in my own life, is music in the home. It seems like there was always music playing at home, especially in the mornings. And she always seemed to be involved in choir, and other musical numbers at church. Although I didn't really pick up the performance part of her love of music, I do still really love to listen to it, and always like to have music around me.

7) The way she freely gives of herself through service. Over the past few years I have seen her in action, and it has made me come to realize just how Christlike and selfless she is, and my love and appreciation of this have grown tremendously. The first one that comes to mind is a year and a half ago when we bought our house. It needed some major "fixing-upping," and while we were able to arrange to have some stuff done by professionals, there was still a LOT that we needed help with that we had neither the time, tools, or experience to do on our own. With my parents' help we were able to get many, many projects completed and fix our house up the way we wanted it. And even when I would complain about things, (I'm such a brat, I know!!) she never got frustrated or upset with me. Another example that comes to mind was a year ago when Allie was born. Knowing that I was the exhausted and overwhelmed mother of two small children, she volunteered to stay with us for a week after the baby was born, and she kept Allie downstairs near her, so I could sleep soundly, and only brought her to me to eat, then quickly whisked her away to care for her so I could just fall right back to sleep. It might sound like a simple thing now, but at the time, it could not have meant more to me, and I will never forget her charity towards me.

6) She isn't afraid of failure. Let me just preface by admitting that I am a worrier. I tend to stress about the stupidest, most insignificant details of stuff that just doesn't matter all that much, and sometimes it can be paralyzing to me. I try to make things perfect sometimes, usually to my detriment. But not my mommy! She isn't ever afraid to just roll her sleeves up, dig in, and tackle a problem from whatever angle comes to mind. Referring back to when we remodeled our house, she came to stay with us several different times, for weeks at a time, to help us with anything and everything. You would be amazed at what this woman is capable of doing; she is not afraid to try anything, and isn't afraid to mess up, either. I LOVE that. I will never forget watching her take a huge crowbar and a hammer to our kitchen and bathroom floors, as we were trying to remove the subflooring (after my pathetic, wimpy self had given up and said it was too hard) and unleashing determination and physical strength and fury that I didn't think could be possible from such a nice person! She is strong. She doesn't sweat the small stuff, and she always remembers to have a good time doing whatever is is she is doing. I love her for that.

5) All flowers remind me of her. Just like the Primary song, (although I haven't gone walking in a meadow of clover in quite some time) whenever I see beautiful flowers (especially all the perennials she planted for me last spring that are now coming back to life) I usually turn my thoughts to my mom, partly because of her love of nature, and of being outdoors. She always fed the hummingbirds, and other types of birds, and I never appreciated it that much- until I got my own house. Now I "get it." And I am so happy that I now have lovely reminders of my mother all around me, which makes the springtime all that much more enjoyable.

4) Everything is more fun with her! In November 2004, I was 9 months pregnant, and at the time, we were living in New York City. Not wanting to miss out on her "baby having a baby," she arranged and paid for a substitute teacher to take her class of fifth graders for 10 days, and jumped on a plane bound for The Big Apple, assuming that within those 10 days the baby would be born. (Such was not to be the case, as I will explain later.) With nothing but time on our hands, we set out to see the sights of the city, at least as much as I could with my burgeoning belly. (Although I had already lived there for 4 months, I was working and pregnant and tired so I hadn't done a whole lot of touristy things yet.) We walked across the Brooklyn Bridge, shopped, ate, went to Central Park, rode the subway all over the place, saw Phantom on Broadway, pushed a granny cart all the way to Queens and back (Costco!) I will never forget eating those humongous Polish sausage dogs and Cokes, and then trying to push that wobbly little cart stacked to overflowing with groceries, and even an uncooked chicken pot pie perched precariously on top. What a laugh we had! We also braved the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade crowds together, with my huge belly attempting to part the crowds down Broadway as we tried to squeeze into a spot! That was quite the sight. We also went to numerous Dr. appointments, trying to find out if that baby was ever going to arrive. All in all, she ended up staying out there with me for about 20 days, twice as long as was initially intended (since Drew came 12 days late) and at more than twice the cost. Since the baby was born via emergency c-section, my mom wasn't even able to be present during the birth. (After all that trouble, can you believe it?) But she never complained. What could have been a miserable and lonely and scary time for me turned into one of the most treasured memories that I will ever have. I will never forget that 3 weeks together with my mom laughing and having fun and making the best of a potentially less-than-optimal situation. Mom, I don't know if I ever told you how much your doing that meant to me. So there you have it.

3) She's not judgemental. I remember one time when I was a teenager we were shopping at a mall in Las Vegas, and we were approached near the entrance by (what I thought was) a scraggly-looking, unkempt young woman. She told us she needed money to buy food for her kids. "Yeah, right, I thought to myself. I don't see any kids anywhere. I know what you are really going to do with that money...!" But before I could squeeze out another judgemental thought, my mom was leading this woman into the food court of the mall, and over to McDonald's to buy some Happy Meals for the children. And after she handed her the food, my mom handed her a little cash "to buy some milk and cereal." After the woman thanked her and departed, I just remember looking at my mom a bit questionably. I was so humbled by her response; it was something to the effect that there is only one person who has the right to judge this young woman, and all we have the place to do is help others when we are able. I never forgot that lesson she taught me strictly by example-which I have realized is how children learn best.

2) My mom loves herself. I have come to realize and appreciate this so much more as I have become an adult, and because she has set this example for me, and because she loved herself, I always knew that I should love myself for who I am as well. She is a self-made woman, and has always worked hard to achieve any and everything she has set out to accomplish. She has a "can-do" attitude, and can laugh at her mistakes while still maintaining her confidence in herself. She challenged herself to not only get her college degree, but to attain a Masters in Education while having 3 young children at home. I still remember seeing her cry the day of the graduation ceremony; at the time it freaked me out a little because I couldn't understand why my mom was crying- wasn't this supposed to be a good thing? Obviously later on I realized they were tears of joy for a huge accomplishment amidst tremendous obstacles. I know it is partly because of her love of self that she pushed herself to achieve her dreams and to better herself and better the lives of the hundreds of fifth graders who would have the immense privelege of calling her "Mrs. Dial."

1) Her unwavering faith. My mom is the most positive, upbeat person I know. She never gets down about things, and doesn't let little things bother her. I admire this a lot. As much as we are alike in other ways, this is one trait of hers that I unfortunately didn't inherit. When life hands her trials, instead of fretting and dwelling on them, she stays positive and doesn't sit around feeling sorry for herself. She has also been a great source of strength and support and love for my dad, which I appreciate very much, and has shown me by example how truly happy two very different people can be together, which has come to be a great inspiration and example in my own life. She doesn't complain. She has shown me by the way she has conducted her life that she has complete faith and trust in the Lord, and His plan for her. This has blessed my life in ways she may never realize.

Happy Mother's Day, Mom! We appreciate all the sacrifices you have made for all of us and all that you have done to love and serve our family. We hope you have a wonderful day and know how much all your babies love and admire you.

I often go walking in meadows of clover,

And I gather armfuls of blossoms of blue.

I gather the blossoms, the whole meadow over

Dear mother, all 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.