Happy Birthday to the best Mom in the entire world! She has been the most amazing example of the Mama I want to be to my kids. Every day I realize that I am more and more like her, and you know what? I’m so glad. Growing up I thought that I never wanted to be like my parents. Now I see that everything that they did, all of the hard work and tough, but compassionate unconditional love was exactly how it should be to be a great parent. I’m well aware that God has blessed me way beyond what I deserve by giving me my mom. And in turn my children have been blessed with the BEST MEMA EVER!!!! It might irritate me sometimes to see that I’m turning into my mother, but that’s only my stubbornness coming through since I had “vowed” to never be like her. Man, when we are young, we are so dumb. If I could be half the mom she is, my kids will be blessed. I never saw her rest when I was little, and honestly, I don’t think I can remember her complaining about being tired either. That’s definitely something I need to work on myself! She would get up well before the sun, make us all breakfast of our choice, most times we all wanted something different. I’m not talking about her just putting a piece of bread in the toaster or warming up a pop tart or Eggo waffle. This amazing woman would scramble us eggs, make French toast, homemade pancakes or biscuits, omelets, you name it! EVERY SINGLE MORNING before school! Not only that, she was able to get our difficult bottoms ready for school and on the bus (most times before the sun came up as we had a LONG bus ride living out in the country.) She was able to get herself and the house ready by the time all of her kids came. She ran her own at-home daycare. I, to this day, cannot think of a single person who was/is better at taking care of children who are not her own. Actually, she felt like every one of those kids were hers and treated them so. She would spend her entire day not only giving those babies as much attention and care that they deserved and needed, but also she was able to somehow magically get laundry done, the house cleaned up, beds made EVERY SINGLE DAY, and manage to have homemade baked goodies for us for after school treats and for our lunches. EVERY NIGHT she would make a delicious home cooked comfort food meal and help us with our homework. By the time she got us in bed she was tirelessly finishing up cleaning the kitchen and starting her other responsibilities of packing lunches for the next day, planning upcoming activities, etc. This absolutely amazing woman (there are no real words to describe her) would make us hand crafted toys to play with. We may not have had a plastic kitchen set like they sell in the stores, but we had a mom who turned a plastic children’s table into an oven and stove with craft supplies around the house! She sewed us our very own Cabbage Patch dolls. She sewed us clothes, and she decorated cakes on the side!!!! Our Halloween costumes were mom and dad created, with my mom crafting them in her “spare time”. I remember when my sister was a “Dorito’s bag” one year. This was no cheesy half-assed Doritos bag. No pun intended. My mom made her a Chip face mask and created a bag for her body by using two poster boards. She even found a way to get a plastic front and put real Doritos inside. When she could have just drawn squiggly lines for the words on the chip bag, she took the time to write out everything from that bag. She wanted my sister to have the perfect original costume. And she sure did! It was awesome! That costume is probably still around somewhere. I even wore it one year as my costume. These are just a few of the countless things my mom has done, continues to do, and will no doubt do in the future. You see, now you know what I mean when I say that I hope to be even half the mom she is. When I was in high school, my mom did something else amazing. She decided to change careers. She was brave enough to go and learn something new. She became a certified Pharmacy Technician. She trained and studied and she was successful! I’m so so proud of her for having the courage to try something new. And now she and my Dad have been on their latest adventure of running my Dad’s construction company where she is the office manager. She has put her all into every single day of her life. Recently when she was faced with the obstacle of knee replacement, she confronted it head on and battled through the pain and frustration of not being able to get around like she is used to. It has been a huge struggle and very difficult, but again, that woman is amazing and is on the up side already. The doctors have told her the entire time that she’s ahead of the game. I wouldn’t expect anything less from her. I want to be JUST LIKE MY MOM when I grow up! |
| She truly is a ROCK STAR! |
I love you so much. You are such an inspiration to me and my little family. We wish that we could see you all of the time, but for some reason God has placed us a little ways apart. The distance may not be too far, but our limited time creates a bigger gap. Perhaps it is so that I can learn on my own to be the mom that I want to be, just like you have always been for me. I definitely still have those “I want my Mommy days”, and I’m so blessed to know that I can pick up a phone and call you. Hearing your voice has always helped me when I’m frustrated, sad, mad, happy, excited, etc. I always want to share my stories with you and you are always willing to listen no matter how ridiculous they are. You never make me feel like what I have to say is unimportant, even if I’m telling you the same thing for the 100th time. You have endless patience that I would LOVE to possess! While being a part of my MOMS group over the past few weeks, I’ve been reflecting on relationships, feelings, and friendships among other things regarding motherhood. I’m coming to realize that not only are you my mom, but one of my BEST FRIENDS! I don’t know what I would do without you. I’m so grateful for your spiritual nature. You have nurtured and taught your children to have a close relationship with God. You and Dad have definitely succeeded in this God given responsibility. Thank you for being you. Thank you for being a Mom to Fernando who deserves a Mom just like you! Thank you for being the most awesome, loving, spoiling Mema that my kids deserve. I’m missing you just writing this! When the time comes for me to take care of you like you have taken care of me my whole life, please know that I’m always going to do it with as much patience, love, and care that you have given to Angi, Jon, me, our spouses, and our own babies. Happy Birthday, Mom!
Thank You, God for giving us this amazing Mother who obviously has lived her life committed to her children and family similar to Your own Mother. Please continue to bless her and keep her strong to always follow Your path for her. Please help us to never take her for granted and to be able to show her all the love and compassion she deserves. Thank You for the BEST MOM EVER!!!!
