My Mom...Why I want to be just like her!

Today is my mom's birthday. Anyone who knows me well, knows that my mom and I are super close. There is not a day that goes by that I don't talk to my mom and I often talk to her several times a day. So many things come to mind when I think of her, but if I was asked to describe her I would definitely use Proverbs 31.

My mom and dad have been married for 41 years and they are still truly in love. I have watched my mom love, support, honor, and cherish my dad my whole life. While they have certainly experienced their own ups and downs, they have always remained focused on keeping God first in their marriage. My dad was not a Christian when he and my mom met. While my grandfather spent a lot of time with him studying God's word, I know my mom's influence had a lot to do with my dad's interest in learning more about becoming a Christian. My mom encouraged my dad throughout the years as he became a song leader in the church, led prayers, and preached sermons. Most recently, she has supported his work as a deacon in the church. She has taught me what a wife should be. She has taught me how to love my husband even when times are tough, how to encourage him, understand him, and support him. I know that my dad would surely say that my mom has truly enriched his life. 

 

She is so wise and she gives exceptional advice. We all know many people who are willing to step in and give advice, even when we haven't asked for it. One thing my mom always reminded us was that there wasn't anything we could not talk to her about. In fact, she was fantastic at making us feel comfortable talking to her. I know there were so many times that we shared things with her that she would rather have not heard and even though there were, at times things we shared that disappointed her, she was never judgmental. As adults, she has respected us, our family life, and our marriages. She has given us much advice, but only when we asked for it. She has spent countless hours on the phone with us, sitting on her bed talking with us, and even holding us. She has corrected us in a loving way and she has shown us tremendous patience. 

My mom loves her family. She not only tells us that daily, but she has truly shown her love for us in many ways. I could probably write a book about all the many things she has done for each of us. She has always gone above and beyond to make things special for us. When we were little, she would buy us little gifts that she called "sercies". It wasn't until I was much older that I figured out that she didn't make that word up herself. There were times that I would find a card in my book bag or in my car from her. They always showed up just when I needed the encouragement. She never missed a school event or dance recital. In fact, she and dad spent quite a few years carting Tiffany around for her dance competitions. You could always find my mom in the crowd because she would be the one yelling the loudest "Go Tiffany" or "Go girls"! My mom has provided us support and literally held us up when we weren't sure we could go any further. Our family has experienced tragedy and gone through things that we never thought we would experience. Tiffany and I both experienced long labors with Meredith and Lauren and we ended up delivering by c-section. Mom never left our rooms, never left our side, and never once complained. She spent a week with us both after we had our daughters and we both cried like babies when she had to go home. I want to be that mom. I want to give Meredith the same love, encouragement, support, understanding, and guidance that she has given to me. I want Meredith to talk to me about everything, even the things that I may not want to hear. I want to be a part of all the experiences, big and little. I want Meredith to be proud to be my daughter as I am so very proud to be her daughter. 

The most important thing I can share about my mom is her love for God and her firm faith. My mom and dad always had us at church. When the doors were open, we were there. We grew up in a small congregation and we had a very small number of youth. They made sure that we participated in youth activities. We went to youth rallies and Bible camp. Mom even drove three hours back to the Bible camp to pick me up after I broke my ankle. As a child, one of my fondest memories is going to the nursing homes to sing to the residents. I truly believe that is what sparked my love for older adults and led to my education and career choices. My mom loves to sing and she has a beautiful voice. When I was a little girl, I would look up at her in church and wish that one day I would be able to sing as beautiful as she does. Her faith and her belief in God is what helped lead my dad to become a Christian and together they led Tiffany and I to also become Christians. I pray that I always have the strong, firm faith that my mom has and I pray that I am able to be the strong, Christian example that Meredith and Creig need.

She is kind, thoughtful, loving, gracious, sincere, trustworthy, gentle, humble, generous, nurturing, strong and hardworking. She is loved. She is honored. She is praised. She is my best friend.