My Mom

Some people have special things they call their mother. Mama, Ma, but my mom has always been "mom".  Mother's Day is always a little sad for me. Not because of some traumatic event that happened when I was little, but because for the last 10 years I haven't spent Mother's Day with my mom. She still lives in Alaska and we have lived "outside" since we've been married. There was an ache in my heart when I tried to call tonight because, like my 9 other siblings, we were all vying for a chance to talk to her today. I didn't get her, so instead I'm writing for her. I hope you like it mom.

Some of the things that I remember about my mom was her ability to love. She had 10 kids, no twins, and I am number 5. A lot of the time I remember wanting more attention from her and boldly asking for it. And instead of being annoyed or mad, she would do something special with me. Not for very long, because she had dinner to make, babies to take care of, or to drive someone somewhere. But for that short period of time, I had her undivided attention and I knew that she loved only me.

As I have my own children now, I am so grateful for the tremendous amount of patience she had. I have three kids in the house most days and I hardly have enough patience for them! I can't even imagine the sheer volume of our house in her mind. She was incredibly patient when it came to math homework, which was my absolute WORST subject. Some nights she would stay up to help me and I can remember being in such a bad mood, but she would calmly help me figure it out. This is how she was with everything. She was and still is a very even tempered person. She had her limits though and exploded one night and announced to us kids she was running away. She left on foot down the road. I can't remember how old I was, but I remember just sobbing. She came back after a good long walk and had dinner on the table by the time dad got home.

 

My mom is a good sport. She's always game for a good joke, even if it's about her. My mom taught me about cooking. She trained us from a young age how to cook food and grow things in Alaska (which is difficult). Some of my best memories were picking raspberries and hacking away at our poor rhubarb plants to make desserts.

Mom loves to dance. She is a great dance instructor and I always took pride in the fact that she came to volunteer at the high school and taught a group of us. She instilled a desire in me to follow my passion and to volunteer. She supported me in the things I was interested in whether it was ballet, sports, or massage therapy.   My mom is tough, aside from having 10 children, 2 of which at home and 9 without epidurals, she is just tough. The above picture is from college where she was part of a survival program where they threw you out in the Utah desert with very few provisions and you had to survive. I know this training paid off when she and dad first came to Alaska. She walks nearly every day and was really put out that she couldn't participate in kick boxing after having knee surgery a few years ago.

She's strong emotionally, even when she doesn't think so. She's been through a lot and has come through a more humble beautiful example of what I want to be like when I grow up. She's become my best friend as I've gotten older. She's that fountain of knowledge and support that's there to say, "I've been there. It's hard, but I know you can do it." It's amazing the comfort of a mother's words. There's nothing like it.

I just want to end my post with a poem she had above our stove. I think it was the first thing that I ever read. It's stuck with me after all these years and is ingrained in me.

Cleaning and scrubbing can wait til tomorrow,
For babies grow up,
We've learned to our sorrow,
So quiet down cobwebs,
Dust go to sleep,
I'm rocking my babies and babies don't keep.

I love you mom. Happy Mother's Day.