..."I brought you into this world..."

A Mother's Day tribute to my mom.... she brought me into this world... and as Bill Cosby said on the Cosby Show ... "I can take you out." ☺

My mom has given me life... she has sacrificed her dreams, to raise my sister & brother & I ....

And I am mighty proud to say she did an excellent job... we are all successful, usually-law abiding, God fearing beings ...  we all work (I'm the only one earning a salary of hugs & kisses), pay taxes... have graduated from Kansas State University (yes we attended & graduated WHERE we root) ... & we all married purple (Doug, red & blue do make purple ☺) ... my mom even reared one doctor, my sister has a doctorate of physical therapy... wow, what amazing kids she raised...

My mom put college on hold to start a family... she & I even commuted between Western Kansas and nursing school, until the combo became too daunting.... she chose mothering... such a great model that life & plans change... what you thought you'd be doing when you were 20 isn't what you'd do for a lifetime... but she will always be a mother. She has gone on to become a successful residential real estate appraiser, now that we have all 'flown the coop'... something she might have never envisioned when she was a young teenager...

I was an only child for half a decade... savoring the spotlight of my sibling-less life...a rather selfish tot truly... my dad told me once that he could tell what kind of day mom & I had had when he would return from work... it we had butted heads, we'd be on seperate sides of the house... if we had spent the day in harmony, we'd be making dinner side by side... I was very stubborn & wanted things my way... wow, I had a lot 'growing' to do, even as a toddler...

My dad told my husband this story on the eve of our wedding... when I was 3-4 years old & my blankets would work their way off during the night... I would call out to my mother..."Cover me up..." until my mom would crawl out of bed, climb the stairs to my room and cover me up...

My dad told my husband... "Now it's your turn to cover her up."

Even as an adult my mom has a sixth sense when it comes to her kids... during a rough day nearly 10 years ago, my mom called me out of the blue... the Lord knew I needed to hear the voice from the womb I had originated...

My mom is at my boys beckon call... flying to Indiana to 'kid-sit' & chauffeur, attend roller skating parties & be the mash potato chef  ... so my husband & I can get away and remember why we fell in love... or attend a business meeting in a far away land...

My mom & dad have driven 30 hours round trip to visit.... driven 10 hours to watch me run a 10 second race as a teenager... chaperoned me on a trip to perform in the Macy's Day Parade in 1990, opening my eyes to a big big world out there...

My mom used to leave my siblings & I 'to-do-lists'.... her motto being 'do something productive & constructive each day'..... I am thankful for the life lesson that 'working hard, is better than hardly working'...

I asked the boys what their favorite memories of Grandma are:
going on 'rabbit hunts' (walking Ginger the head of ranch security) in the cedar windbreak...

Being read to & now reading  Mercer Meyer's Little Critter books to Grandma... she has an extensive library...

Going on adventures in Grandma's attic to find a tote of toys saved from my siblings childhoods... all mementos stowed away to share with the next generation...

Eating Rice Krispie Treats for snack time in their fort in Kansas, cooked by Grandma...

Eating Grandma's fried chicken & mashed potatoes with her white country gravy.... AND chicken & noodles plopped on a pile of mashed pots.....

The modern day pampering of a mother  and grandma...

This had me thinking of a Biblical mother in the Old Testament... she did her best to 'pamper' her son, Moses....

Moses' birth mother knew to save her son, she had to sacrifice her own feelings & had his sister Miriam place Moses in a basket in the river... cleverly places where the Pharaoh's daughter would be bathing... then Moses' mother strategically got a job being Moses' wet nurse in Pharaoh's palace.... (paraphrased from the book of Exodus 1 - 2)

The Lord chose mothers to bring us into this world.  Mothers make sacrifice after sacrifice for the greater good of their children.  My mom has sacrificed for me....her first born who was an unpleasant teenager... a college student who would disrespectfully break curfew, sending my mother out to scour the ditches of the country roads near our home... me who moved over 1/4 of the way across the country .... me who sometimes just needs to hear the voice of my mother when homesickness sets in... reminding me of the girl she raised me to be...

... and for that I thank the Lord... I am blessed.