Mom

My great-grandmother, mom and grandmother on my wedding day...3 wonderful mothers!



Mom! I’m thirsty! Mom, where did you put my shoes? Mom, I need gas in my car. Mom, I don’t want to do that…Mom, mom, mom! How many moms out there have ever wanted to change their name from mom?  Just about the time I want to be called by something else and pretend like I am not the mom, that’s when I hear “thanks mom, I love you.”

            The dictionary simply defines a mother as a female parent, a woman who has given birth.  I guess the dictionary has to keep it simple or it would take up several pages.  A more appropriate description would read something like this: Mom: cook, tailor, gardener, housekeeper, bookkeeper, daycare provider, nurse, taxi cab driver, referee, coach and able to perform any other duty that comes along.

            I never realized the extent of the job description until I became a mom.  My children are near grown.  Even with one away at college, I still have certain things I do for him.  As hard as it is to sometimes be a mom, it’s hard to quit being a mom.

            Mothers are remarkable people.  I look back on my childhood and remember all of the things my mom did for me everyday.  I took a lot of it for granted. Everything I needed, she seemed to make happen. There were meals on the table, my clothes were clean and she taxied me wherever I needed to go. She never missed my games, speech contests or FFA activities.  She was always there.

            By being the mother she was, she taught me how to be a good mother. I was taught the meaning of respect and courtesy and the importance of family.

            When you look back at all of the things your mother was responsible for in molding your life, it is amazing.  How can a simple “female parent” accomplish all of that? A mother is so many things. She is there to care for the needs of her children.  She is there through the good and bad, the joys and the heartaches.  She is the one who understands.

            Being a mom is a lifetime job, even though there comes a time that the apron strings have to be cut. There is no true job description, it comes from within. My children are the greatest gift I have ever received and I thank my mother for passing on the traits of a mother that aren’t explained in a dictionary. 

Happy Mother’s Day.

“A mother holds her children’s hands for a while, but holds their hearts forever.”