Happy Mother's Day!

Well it’s way past Mother’s Day and I never did write more about my mom. But I’ve thought much about her and my memories of childhood with her. I have to laugh because I’m such an independent and stubborn person that I’m almost shocked when I’m told stories of how attached I was to my mom as a little girl. Most of these memories could be considered embarrassing to me, but I like to think of them as a great example of how wonderful my mother has always been.

First, I’ll admit that I am a preschool drop out. My mom put me in preschool thinking it’d be a great few hours break for her. But to her dismay, I wouldn’t let her leave me at preschool. When she did, I cried the entire time. When she had to run errands or work in her church calling, she’d often have our neighbor Sue babysit me. I remember sitting under Sue’s kitchen counter sad and wanting my mom. I even remember Sue sitting under the kitchen counter with me to help me come out from under there and be happy and play. Funny thing, Sue eventually adopted two kids that I babysat as a teenager. She and I always laughed about those memories of me at age 3 or 4 sitting under her counter. So, long story short… I never finished preschool. First day of kindergarten was another funny clingy memory. I wanted so badly to ride the school bus to kindergarten and do it all by myself. My brother (who was in 4th grade that year) rode with me. My mother will never forgive herself for not following the bus to school that day. Needless to say, when I stepped into the classroom and realized I didn’t know anyone, I started to cry and didn’t let my brother go to class. Thankfully, one of my very best friends and her mom came not too long after that and I was happy to have a friend. My brother was late his first day of 4th grade and he will never let me forget it. I wore glasses as a kid and was made fun of and called “four eyes” when I was in kindergarten (or maybe first grade) by a mean kid on the bus. I came home crying one day and my mom took me to school and picked me up from school everyday ever since… even well into middle school and high school until I could drive my own car. I’ll also admit that I couldn’t go to sleep at night unless my mom laid down with me in bed. She did this every night until I was seven or eight years old. She was really good at sneaking out of my bedroom after I fell asleep. When I think back to all these little moments and so many more, I now realize how much she sacrificed to give me so much of her time each day when I was growing up. Thanks mom for being so selfless and being a stay home mom all these years. I hope you never regret doing that, because you’ll never truly know the effects it had on us kids. We are all better because of your selfless service and endless love you’ve shown us all these years. Happy Mother’s Day!