MOM...Here it is!!! The post you've been waiting for!!! It's all about Y-O-U!!!
You would think that a post about my mom would be easy to write. I mean, she has definitely known me the longest, right? But, I ran into the same problems I ran into when I wrote my very first post about my hubby...how do you condense so many years of memories, feelings, and lessons learned into a couple of paragraphs? You want it to convey exactly how you feel, but how do you put this into the right words? It is much easier to write about the lady at Subway who doesn't let me talk on my cell phone, but here it goes...
From the time that I was little, I knew that I was loved. What a gift. There are so many children in the world who do not have this basic thing that I have often taken for granted. My mom was always there for me and still is today. I doesn't matter how big or small the task...she will do it. I really cannot ever remember a time that she has told me no when I have asked her for something. Most of the time, I don't even have to ask, and she knows what I need and starts the helping process without me even asking.
When I was born, my dad was still playing baseball. My mom would pack up me and all my stuff and travel to Minnesota for the season. During the long road trips, she and I would hang out in the pool apartment and wait for dad to come home. A long, long way from home.
When I was little, I remember a wonderful, busy childhood. Some of my best memories are going to the library every Monday in the summer (since the pool at Ellendale was closed). We would haggle about the number of books that Darren and I could check out (sorry Sarah, you weren't there yet) and would usually get to take home 6 or 7 each. I would have them read by Monday night, and then would re-read them a couple of times before the next Monday. Thank you mom for instilling in me a love of reading. It's one of my favorite things to do today. During the weekdays, we would head out to the pool at Ellendale where took swimming lessons, then did swim team, and then became a lifeguard. I remember counting the trees that lined the bayou on the way to Ellendale. Darren and I would never come up with the same number. I remember stopping to look at the turtles sunning themselves on the rocks at the entrance. I remember playing a lot of tennis with my mom and dad there also. Weekend tournaments...club ladder...tents. All good times...all great memories. My love of tennis and swimming stems from all of these fun summers and all my great memories. My mom and dad never left us behind, but included us in their daily lives. A wonderful childhood which I am now trying to pass onto my children.
Dance recital day! I remember how fun it was to get to put on make-up from
my mom's make-up drawers.
As a mom of busy kids, I can appreciate the dedication that it takes to enroll your children in activities. My mom was a firm believer that you give everything a try and then you stick with what you like. I remember her carting me to and from the following: swim team, gymnastics, dancing, guitar lessons, piano lessons, baton lessons, cake decorating lessons, sewing lessons, softball, volleyball, basketball, and even a fashion show at Le Petit Theatre for Dupont's. As I write out my weekly schedule which sometimes looks like it will be impossible to get everyone where they need to be at the right time (and even more importantly...remember to pick everyone up), I remember my mom and all the sacrifices that she has made for me over the years. It is all worth it. Thank you mom for all the times you put me first and yourself last.
This picture was taken at Christmastime about a week or two before I delivered Blake.
My mom was a God-send for the first few months following his birth and ever since.
My mom has been a great model for me for parenting. Selfless, always giving, open lines of communication, even when it gets harder. In my teen years, she helped guide me through high school. There was the not-so-fun after party, where we invited a bunch of my classmates to come to my house after a school dance. My mom and dad bought a bunch of donut holes and snacks thinking we would have a house full. Instead, I came home by myself while everyone else snuck off to a classmates house whose parents were out of town. Seems like it would be devastating, right? Not so...I just remember eating lots of donuts for the next few days. I also remember that she was at every volleyball and softball game, was always there to "call-out" homework and tests, and always encouraged me to work hard, letting me know that if I tried my best, that was good enough.
The top picture could have been any given night struggling through homework. I have deja-vu when I am studying with Zachary. As an adult, I appreciate all the time my mom took with me to teach me the right way to study and to learn. She taught me that it is important to be neat, to take your time and do it right the first time, and to always try my best. She expected me to use my brains and did not allow me to be lazy, even when I wanted to. (hear that Zack?) She also put in many hours on many projects like the one above. Now that I have to help with these projects, I appreciate her even more. She obviously did it out of love because I can't seem to talk her into doing them with her grand kids. (Except for the Andre Agassi coke bottle - lol).
This picture was taken at my PT school graduation. Thank you mom for always supporting me. I will never forget you and dad coming to meet me at Houston's in Metairie after my PT school interview. I cried all through dinner because I was sure I had botched my interview and would not get in. Although you were upset for me, you kept telling me that surely it wasn't as bad as I thought it was. I'm not sure if you were right or if they just felt sorry for me, but you were right... I got accepted.
I went to college at the same college that she attended in Lafayette. She got me set up in the dorm and made it look as homey as could be. She showed me around campus and around town. All the important spots were covered...the cool shoe store in the Oil Center, the best hamburgers at Judice Inn, and of course, the mall. This was only the start of all the living places she would help me decorate. There was floor pillows and a bedspread for my apartment in Lafayette. New curtains for my room in my apartment in Metairie. Chair cushions for Jeff and my first apartment behind SLB. Lots of curtains (about 3-4 rooms worth if I remember correctly) in our first home on Harvest and Blake's nursery where she decked us out with curtains, bumper pads, changing table cover and even a new lampshade. You would think it would end there, but not so. In our new home, she made beautiful curtains for our bedroom, the study, and all of the boys rooms. She even used her new monogramming machine to monogram bath towels for all of our bathrooms. So much talent...so many projects that I probably never thanked her appropriately enough for...but I am now.
My mom always makes Christmas special with family gatherings, lots of food, praise for all of our blessings and waaaay too many presents! Same goes for birthdays. Thanks for all the hard work over the years to make these special times extra special. Thanks for always making us take time out from all the hustle and bustle of Christmas to make us "do the Advent wreath" and refocus on the reason for the season. (And for letting us take turns lighting the candles.)
Matching outfits...I'm sure straight off the sewing machine. Very cute mom.
When Blake was born, there was a lot of discussion about what Mom was going to be called. Maw Maw was not an option for someone so young at heart. The winning title was Grammy which is occasionally shortened to Graham Cracker, Gram, or even occasionally Cracker. At different times, different titles seem more appropriate. :) Grammy loves all of her grand kids equally and she always makes sure she spends quality time with each of them individually. She has jumped into being a grandmother with gusto. She makes every play, program, and awards ceremony and has also gone the extra mile. She serves lunch at school once a week and has even gotten trained to train all of the school volunteers. She has substituted and gone on field trips and she never misses a grandparent lunch or picnic. I hope you know mom, that these things do not go unnoticed and are truly appreciated!
Now onto some random pictures through the years...
Speaking of young at heart!
Grammy is always up for some fun in the sun!
This was taken at our fun, fun trip to Atlantis a few years ago.
As far as guilty pleasures go, this one is not so bad.
She did not , however, pass this love on to me :)
Depending on how you look at it, Mom either gets a wonderful celebration or a total diss each year for her birthday which is on New Year's Eve. Last year we decided to celebrate it Vegas Style and were not disappointed.
After having to plan vacations around the school calendar for many years, my mom and dad have been able to travel a good bit in the last ten years or so.
They have come a long way from this vacation to Spain back in the day.
Just had to include this one. Must have been right when we moved into our new house.
S-T-Y-L-I-S-H!!!
I'm not sure if my mom made this dress for me or not, but if not, I know that she made a lot like this one. She is a wonderful seamstress and has bought more material in her lifetime than Hancock. Sorry that I didn't have any little girls for her to smock for!
Yes I was spoiled by them both!
This was taken at my "Christmas Ornament" shower before my wedding. Please note the painted T-shirts. One of my mom's many talents was to recreate, in about 4 hours, any craft that we saw Saturday morning at Southdown. I can remember rushing home from Southdown and having her make me a crafty sweatshirt and skirt to wear to the LSU game that afternoon. Thanks Mom for all of your rushed crafts over the years. Then again....
We have taken some great trips together, but my favorite so far have been the tennis tourneys.
We have been to Houston, to Miami, to New York, and to California.
Always lots of fun and lots of laughs (except when Agassi is playing :)
Miami - Gosh it was H-O-T!!!!!
Houston with Mattress Mack!
Another from Houston I think. Once again makin friends where ever, whenever.
I'm sure the lady next to her is not saying, "Shhhh." LOL
This is a standing joke on our trips as my mom can make friends with ANYONE!
The problem is when we switch places, the new friends think I am my mom and want to talk my ear off! She tries not to make so many friends when she is with us, but she really just can't help it.
(see below)
LOLOLOLOLOL
By far, my favorite picture ever.
Note our new friend from the Houston tournament.
Mom did not want her to feel left out, so she invited her to take a picture with us.
Thank you mom for being a great mom. You have shown me what unselfish love is by the way that you parent. I appreciate all that you have done for me and all that you continue to do every day. Most of all I appreciate the fact that you respect my decisions as an adult while still being only a phone call away when I need you...whenever I need you. I love you!
Because my mom always told me to close with something to keep people thinking I'll end with this quote by Helen Steiner Rice.
It is on a picture frame that I have hanging in my house. It reads...
A mother's love is something that
no one can explain; it is made of
deep devotion and of sacrifice and pain.
It is endless and unselfish
and enduring come what may
for nothing can destroy it or take
that love away...
I have always known that I have my mother's love no matter what. What a comfort...
I love you, Mom.
1 comment:
Great post Mo! I know Mom is going to love it!!
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