A Mother of a Job

With Mother's Day this weekend I of course, have to talk about my Mom. My Mom passed away back in 1997 and I miss her terribly. She was only 71 and I was only 32. Kinda young to lose your Mom especially since my Dad died when I was only 25. She was my best friend who always cared so much about me. My Mom was remarkable because she was very intelligent and oh so quiet about it. My Dad used to mention how intelligent she was but I never realized just how smart until I was older. She was so unassuming and understated about it.

It amazed me how she sacrificed so much to raise 4 kids, and in those days that was the norm.  She had me late in life so she was always older then the Moms of my friends. She stopped working when she got pregnant with her first child and devoted herself to raising 3 boys and then me. She never wavered in how much she gave and how much she was there for us.

I have fond memories of how when I was really young and she would draw with me and teach me different things; we would draw gas station logos. She didn't drive so we would walk together to the stores. She took the time to play games with me. She was always so sweet and always listened. Usually supportive of my choices, but knew when to steer me away from something not so good.

I remember one of the most fun times with her was when I was graduating from high school and we were preparing for my party. She and I decided to carve our own watermelon boat. We got very silly and had a ball putting that thing together. It was a little lopsided but it was good.

When I was going through rough times, she was so there for me. I gave her a hard time sometimes but like most mothers she never wavered in loving me. She would always try to help me lose weight even though I would resist it. I took things out on her sometime and it amazes me how mothers may get hurt but it doesn't matter, they still love you. She wasn't perfect by any means, but she did her best and I feel so lucky to have been raised by her. Never do I realize that more than these days. She instilled respect for others in me and that is just one of the many wonderful things she showed me.

In her quiet way she molded four children into wonderful adults just by being herself and loving them very much. I am happy for the things she taught me and the values she practiced. She taught by example and I wish she could have seen her grandchild grow up. She was very devoted and always put us before herself. If that's not the definition of a Mom, I don't know what is.

One of the saddest things I remember is when I had my first real job, one of the board members remembered my Mom from high school and he asked me what she went on to do and I told him she was a housewife. He said that's too bad because she was super smart. I felt badly because I wondered about what she could have been. As we know, in the 50's and 60's a lot of women took this route. She was a little too soon for the women's movement. Who knows how remarkable she could have been during a different time period.

As her daughter I can only be a living tribute to her by being a good respectful person and never slide away from the values she taught me. Maybe somehow she can hear this blog and hopefully be proud of me. Like her I am far from perfect, but the best things about myself, she gave me. In her housewife life, she accomplished so much. It is still carried on through her children and grandchildren.

Being a Mom is like nothing else. It is the hardest, most gut wrenching job ever. I'm not even a Mom and I know that. It's messy, aggravating, harsh, funny, tiring, wonderful and non stop. It is the most important job in the world; there is no training, no manual to refer to. So it's good we have a day to honor all the Mothers in our lives. They are all remarkable. Happy Mother's Day to all.