A Mother of a day!

It’s a Sunday and usually I blog on Mondays of all the happenings over the weekend, but today I chose to do it today because, well, its Mothers Day! I thought about making some sort of sappy dedication to Mom today, although I did go all out bought her flowers and will be taking her out to dinner. Lori wanted to clean house and have a day on the beach or a sauna. However the weather isn’t permitting the sun part of the fun. We opted for a nice lunch, made with our own two hands, later she and Lori gooping it up at the sauna together. A little bit about our Mom, the famous glue to the family: She is the youngest of four sisters and seven brothers, now you can see why she loves large families. She is terrified of snakes, when she was younger she was playing in a creek, she unknowingly disturbed a water moccasin, which chased her out of the creek and into a bob wire fence. Her brothers still talk about how she screamed bloody murder and has night mares about it to this day. In her high school years she was offered a full scholarship to a nursing school, which she promptly jumped on. Graduating with her degree she started working for a local doctor in a private practice, then off to the hospital where she helped with the “sick babies” hence her love for the children. She was tender and sweet with them, taking care of each one as if they were her own. One of the nurses said that she would take the very sick babies and rock and sing them to sleep. Sometimes, being there hours past when her work shift was over to tend to them, not wanting to leave, I remember once she told me that she would come home every night and cry because some of the babies were so ill. While she nursed she continued her education on to her masters and more. She loved learning but she loved to teach even more, “When you take time to learn, it’s important to share your knowledge”. She worked on the weekends for the local doctor where she met my Pops, typical movie like setting. She was the nurse and he, the patient, with a hernia no less. At that time he was sweet and caring to her, I can’t say he still isn’t, he loves her dearly, but then, this isn’t about him it is about her. They fell in love and a year later, they were married and working on their own family together. First was Matthew, where she ended up once again in the sick babies ward. Kind of ironic isn’t it? Matthew didn’t make it sadly, putting her in a slump and wanting nothing to do with nursing. I think she was disturbed that all those years of sick babies she helped but she couldn’t save her own. She focused on making her family, a year later out popped Luke, all healthy and happy. Then myself and very soon after Jackson, three boys to keep her hands full but her mind felt foggy at times. Moving almost every 3 years because of my Pops job, she really couldn’t keep a proper working position. After a long wait they found a place that would appear to be stationary, she opted to teaching at a local college. There she honed her practice and love of sharing her knowledge. Soon Luke was old enough to begin school also the moving from state to state began again. To make her life full she chose to home school her three bunnies. She called us her bunnies because of how the mother rabbits nurtured her babies. Some people think its easy to be home schooled, you never were taught by my Mom, and she had field trips and library time. There was none of this coming into her class in PJs and playing, she was all business. No fake illness, you have to remember she was a nurse too!A few years later Lori came, full of blonde curls and a cherub smile, just like her mommy. She however wanted more children, I’m taking four wasn’t enough for her. As fate would have it for days on end she felt weak, not from having the four of us keeping her running but a terrible blood cancer was racing through her body. After some treatments she seemed to have it under control and taking charge of her life again. Until the fateful day she found the lump under her breast, yes it was breast cancer. She licked that nasty devil as well, fooling her that life was clear and cherry she felt weak again, hoping the blood cancer had not returned she found herself back in the hospital with colon cancer. With one huge major surgery she could no longer have children; they removed every non essential organ, including the female organs, to her dismay, no more children. She didn’t let that get her down; they could have easily adopted more. She now spends her days shopping with my G and enjoying her church activities.
Her three older bunnies are no longer of school age and she doesn’t have the strength to tutor Lori. Although, she has taught us so much; how to love and forgive one another, to think how another person may feel, not to be afraid to love and show it. To share and be caring not only for ourselves; to realize that not every family has had the opportunities that were given to us and be understanding of that. So here’s to you Mom, the glue, the band aid bearer, the dinner maker, teacher, caretaker, friend, and confidant in our lives. She’s also that to many other people in their lives as well.
Mom, keep in your heart that we love you and depend on you and that we may be scattered all over the place you are sill in our hearts. We wish you many, many more Happy Mothers Days.