Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day weekend everyone. :-) Being a mom is just about the best thing there is. I was totally made for motherhood. I have the most wonderful little girl, and I adore being her mom. I love seeing the world through her eyes, I love cuddling with her, I love seeing my husband play with her, I love seeing how she's like all the people she's related to, and I love how much she loves God.

Mostly, I love how much being a mom has made me appreciate my mom. I've always had a good relationship with my mom. We are so much alike (I inherited a lot of her genes - personality and looks), and we have a lot of common interests. She has always been the best mommy ever. She always took good care of me and made me feel completely loved and adored and special. I was sick a lot growing up (with ear infections and fevers, which made me throw up a lot too), and she tirelessly brought me to the doctor (at all hours of the day and night), cleaned up the puke, and stroked my face gently while saying, "shhhhh, it's okay, it's going to be all right."

Living all over the world and having a dad who needed to take a fair amount of business trips, it was up to my mom to make our house feel safe, stable, and secure. And boy did she ever!

My parents couldn't afford for my mom not to work, so she did day care out of our house so she could be home with us when we were little. I always, always had special one-on-one time with my mom and loved having the playmates around. The older I got, I loved coming home from school and while the kids were napping I would tell my mom all about my day at school and she would have some yummy snack ready for me.

As my sister and I were older and both in school, my mom headed back out into the work force. She would go in late (around 9) so she could make us breakfast and get us out to school. My dad went in super early and was home by 3 when we were home from school. It worked very well.

As I got even older - like high school - my mom and I started switching over into the friend relationship. She still disciplined me when I needed it, but we laughed more and went shopping a lot. We used to shop every Saturday for like 8 hours - which included a nice lunch out. We didn't always buy something, but we would walk around and talk and talk and talk. Of course, back in those days I was built like a toothpick, so everything I ever tried on looked great on me, so it was fun to get a stack of clothes, try them on, and every single thing was a keeper. Ah, I miss those days. Now two thirds of what I try on needs a different size or needs to return to the rack.

Anyway, after I got married, I didn't see my mom as much, but I still loved calling her on the phone......yeah, I think every day.......and checking in with her. By the time I got pregnant and was SO ill, she came to take care of me a lot. We got a lot closer through that. She could feel Kara moving in my belly and came with me to just about every appointment to hear that miraculous sound of a heartbeat filling the room. She was my labor coach and was the first one to see Kara enter this world - she held one of my legs while I pushed. (Michael is very squeemish and was standing up near my shoulders squinting and praying he didn't see anything. Ha ha!) My mom and Kara have always had a special bond, and I'm convinced that's one of the reasons.

All the work that motherhood entails helped me realize all my mom has done for me. Not to mention the INTENSE love and adoration I have for Kara makes me appreciate how much my mom loves me. We are still best friends and see each other as often as possible (just about every other day). We have little tiffs here and there, but they get worked out quickly and we're back to being best friends again. She is a safe and happy place for me and has always accepted me for who I was and has always supported any decisions I make.

When I grow up I want to be just like her.