Things I know (and love) about my mother:
-She is a calm, secure, quiet, and gentle. I can honestly say I never remember my mom raising her voice at us. I can never remember her getting "really mad" at anyone. Yes, she raised FIVE children this way....teenage years, and all, and trust me, we weren't little angels. Well, I was of course, but my brothers, and sisters, no way! (That is a joke, please know, angel I was not.)
-She taught us, by example, how to like living simply, without lots of stuff, and how to keep things neat and in order. She taught us to appreciate little things. She made each birthday and holiday so special and exciting, because she didn't ruin it by overdoing it all. She concentrated on the real meaning of all the holidays, but left the fun in them also.
-My mom is the most consistent person I have ever known. When we were children, we knew we would have chores posted on Saturday, we had set bedtimes, we had a snack waiting for us after school every day. We had a nicely set dinner table every night, with a meat, a vegetable, a starch, and ate as a family. Church on Sundays....every Sunday. I appreciate that so much now, because I know how hard it is to be consistent with all the change that takes place in a family.
-My mom is an expert in child development. (Really, she is.) She knows SO much about how children's brains work, from infants to young adults, and what should be expected of them, or what cannot be expected of them. Add this in with a calm, secure, loving, consistent environment and you just have the ideal place for growth.
-She knows education is where it's all at. And she sacrificed to send us to the best schools in the area.
-She has to go to bed early. Really early. It could be that in her 70's, she still works full time (see below) teaching classrooms full of junior high students, and wakes up at 5 a.m. to do so. I learned from her that the early bird gets the worm.
-My mom is an incredibly passionate educator. Jeff always says that wherever my mom teaches, they'd have to replace her with three people if she left. It's totally true.
-She gave me the gift of loving to read. She would take my sisters and I to the library in the summer and we were allowed to get out the maximum number of books...and really, we would read them all. We almost never went shopping, but she often took us to the little local book shop to spend our money on Nancy Drew or Trixie Belden.
-She is so smart. Now if you asked my mom who Jennifer Lopez is, there is a good possibility she will say, "Who?" Which is why she's smart, right? She doesn't waste her time on all this dumb stuff that means nothing... she really really thinks about the bigger picture of life....the things that make a difference. I don't know how to describe it...sure history, literature, religion, culture, psychology, of course she's really smart that way...that is important too, but that's not what I'm talking about either. She knows what it means to fully accept someone, she weighs words carefully and knows when to step in and when not to and what to say when she does, she understands that everyone grows in different ways, and stages, and places and is so aware and careful of that. She is not one to interfere, but one to sit back and know that usually the only way towards growth is the path you discover yourself. Everyone would always say to me, growing up, (she was the youth director at our church for a long time) "your mom is the best listener". She just has this inner emotional scale that knows how to deal with all sorts of people from all walks of life.
Happy Birthday Mom...
...and thank you for everything you have done for me, from the bottom of my heart!
happy birthday to sarah's mom!! ;) it is all of our secret dream to haave our kids grow up and see us or who we really are and who we tried to be.. what an honer you give to your parents sarah! thanks for the reminder to say it outloud...
ReplyDeleteShe sounds wonderful! So many of the things you listed, I need to get better at. What a good example!
ReplyDeleteSuch a nice tribute to your Mom Sarah! Happy Birthday Sarah's Mom!!
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful post. And what an amazing mother you have. A perfect list of reminders of the things I hope and strive for. Wow...I'm almost crying! She seems wonderful---Happy Birthday to her!
ReplyDeleteShe sounds like quite a lady. Thanks for sharing her with us.
ReplyDeletewhat a gift you have in your mom, and what a gift to all the children she's influenced and continues to influence. I wish I could sit at her knee and learn calmness and how to listen and be the best mom I can to all of my children rather than the frustrated impatient person I usually am. seriously, no yelling???
ReplyDeleteShe's a beautiful woman, wife and mother! Obviously, she was smart because she raised amazing kids! What a role model for all of us!
ReplyDeleteAnd Sarah, you are a reading fiend! You must be a speed reader!
What a true true blessing your mom sounds like :) Somehow, I think you are alot like her ;) happy Birthday to you beautiful mom :)
ReplyDeleteSarah, I always wish you were my next door neighbor and friend. Now I think the only thing better would be to have your Mom be my other next door neighbor and friend!!
ReplyDeleteHappy Birthday Sarah's Mom!!
Your mom rocks! :) Happy Birthday to her!
ReplyDeleteHappy Birthday to your mom! She sounds like an amazing lady!
ReplyDeleteI love what you said about living simply--without lots of stuff and focusing on birthdays and not overdoing it!! SO much can be learned from that!
ReplyDeleteSounds like you have the BEST MOM in the world! What an awesome tribute to her! She sounds like the perfect example of Christ-like LOVE! Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteThat is really sweet, she sounds a lot like my mom!
ReplyDeleteWhat a loving tribute to your mom. Sounds like you learned so much from her -- when I read what you wrote it made me think of the way YOU seem to be as a mother. Learning by example, the best way to learn...
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing. :)
What a lovely essay about your mom! I think you learned very well, from two great teachers!
ReplyDeletexoxo
Joni
Happy birthday to your mom! She sounds like a great person, may God bless her and keep her safe for you! :)
ReplyDeleteHappy Birthday to your mom! She sounds like the kind of mother I long to be.
ReplyDeleteShe sounds amazing. It's no wonder you turned out so wonderful!!! Happy b-day to your sweet mom.
ReplyDeleteOh man, I love this. Makes me miss my mom. :) (Although I CAN remember my mom raising her voice a time or two!)
ReplyDeleteyou are so blessed to have a good mom.
ReplyDeleteEchoing what the others have said ... Happy Birthday to Sarah's mommy. She sounds like a wonderful mom to have!
ReplyDeleteSuch a beautiful tribute. She sounds simply amazing. I love how her consistency was such a reassurance for you. Consistency is one of those over-looked virtues.
ReplyDeleteYou favor you mom. Physically and in actions.
ReplyDeleteThis was a great post and I really loved what Jeff said about your mom as a teacher. :-)
I enjoyed reading about your mom. What a blessed woman you are to have had her for a mother. Unfortunately not everyone gets such a sweet example to follow. Thanks for sharing the model of what a mother should be. I must admit that I am a little jealous.
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