This year Mother’s Day, the holiday when we take time to celebrate the women who do the toughest job on the planet turns 100! On this day I am choosing to write about my own spectacular mother, the amazing woman who continues to inspire me on a daily basis.
Now that I am a mother of two children I think about, and appreciate my mom and all that she did to raise four kids, she has taught me an endless amount of things throughout my life, and here I’ve narrowed it down to the top five:
1. Strength – Not only did my mother raise four strong children but at a time when most parents her age are retired and free she still continues to mother my special-needs brother, continuing to care for him on a daily basis. I am sure when she had kids (as I did) she assumed they’d all become independent and leave the house at an appropriate age.
My brother Jordan is not fully independent, and likely never will be. My mother continues to mother him day in and day out with a smile on her face and has chosen to make the absolute best out of the hand she was dealt. She has been and continues to be a strong advocate and voice for my brother. Her fortitude is beyond admirable; she has taught me the true meaning of strength.
Independence – My mother has always been an independent woman. At one point she worked full-time while raising four children as well as caring for and advocating for my brother, morally supporting my father in his dreams and ambitions, and remaining involved in the community. Even though she always had the support of my father she always had her own strong sense of independence and taught us that from a very young age.
3. Perseverance – My mom never stops, it gets to the point where I sometimes even need to BEG her to sit down and take a break! Especially when we were young, the family was demanding, and my mom stepped up to the task and persevered. I have a very vivid memory of my mother, after work, cooking dinner, doing laundry, and putting the kids to bed sitting down at the kitchen table late at night to open the mail, organize the family paperwork (permission slips etc.) and pay the monthly bills. Now that I am a mother myself I can relate to what would’ve been her utter exhaustion and likely her urge to just want to crawl into bed – but she persevered as it had to be done, she had a family that needed her. She never stops until the job is done, and always gives it 100%.
4. Fun – My mom taught me the meaning of fun, and busy as she is she always takes time out to have fun. Now that I am older and visit with the grandkids she’ll sit and play silly games with them, infecting them with laughter.When I was young we would blast the music and lip-sync to our favorite tunes, (usually Motown) coupled with some sweet dance moves! My parents would also plan and take us on many memorable, fun vacations: Cottage rentals, Disney World, and our chalet in Ellicottville New York for some great skiing and awesome fun memories. To this day my mom still makes time for her own fun, for that I am glad as she deserves it! She golf’s, works out, travels, and gets together with friends frequently. Her sense of fun and joy is infectious.
5. Endless Nurturing – Maybe it’s because my brother was sick growing up that my mother became so nurturing, although being second born in the family I never remember her not endlessly caring for and nurturing us. Prior to my brother getting diagnosed with leukemia I had a kidney disease. During this time I was quite sick – back and forth to the hospital, on large amounts of medication, and for the most part unable to attend school.Day in and day out my mother took care of me. She was by my side the entire journey visiting doctors, administering medication, holding my hand (and hair) while I was nauseous and sick.
I have one particular memory at the time when I was laying on the couch watching television as my mom stood by ironing.I remember I had zero appetite when I was sick, and when I did have an appetite I couldn’t keep anything down. This obviously concerned my mother. A commercial for Miracle Whip came on at a commercial break and on it they showcased the tastiest sandwich I’ve ever apparently seen.I turned to my mom and ask her to make me the sandwich. Excited that I finally had an appetite my mom dropped her ironing and rushed to the kitchen to whip me up the Miracle Whip sandwich. (Sidebar: my LEAST fave condiment is Mayo so I must’ve been ill!) My mom brought the sandwich back to me on the couch and it looked EXACTLY like the one in the commercial (I swear this woman has magical powers). No sooner did I scarf the sandwich down that it came right back up Miracle Whip and all, and who was there to help me, and clean it all up – my amazing momma!
With my mother’s nurturing back then I got better, shortly thereafter my brother got very sick and I have many memories of my mother patiently and gently taking care of him.
My mother continues to nurture and care for her grandkids, she currently has four. I recently depended very much on her nurturing when my youngest got quite ill. She hopped a flight to Calgary (where we were living at the time) and helped me administer medication, clean up vomit, change diapers etc. She continues to help nurture me, and my two children, and her nurturing spirit continues to touch her family and friends who surround her.
There are a ton of amazing Mothers out there. What did yours teach you?
Happy Mother’s Day from onthemmmove!
onthemmmove 