Here are just some of the reasons I think this woman rocks:
1) Though she values cleanliness, she has a pretty high tolerance for kids’ messes. What would my childhood have been like without playdough creations, liquid spray chalk, rose petal clay, watercolor painting, and accidental quadruple batches of no-bake cookies? She has a quiet motto: “A creative mess is better than idle tidiness.”
(and here’s evidence that making messes has always been my forte. Just ask my husband. I’m pretty sure that he and my mom should sympathize together…for the past years that she endured and the future years that he will have to.)
2) She helped me develop habits that define me today. For example, she taught me to read, to dress modestly, to eat healthy, to exercise, to pray.
3) When I think of beautiful flowers and plants, I think about my mom. She loves gardening and she can grow anything. Family members often give her their dying plants (which she grows into the size of small trees…that grow too big for one pot…that then turn into several pots…that then take over the living room. But that’s another story). Roses, peas, zucchini, peppers, you name it, she’s grown it. When I was younger, each child got to have a rectangular plot in the backyard and I have such good memories of picking out “smelly” plants (mint, lemon, and green apple) and watching them grow.
4) She is a devoted mother. I’m so happy that my mom was home when I got home from school, that she came to almost all my choir concerts, sport events, spelling bees, etc. That she stayed up late at night to help me study. I’m grateful that she guided me in the right direction and told me when I was doing something wrong, but also to a certain extent, allowed me to make choices and learn from my mistakes.
(P.S. is anyone else disturbed by the fact that my parents look 15 years old in this picture?):
To sum it all up, and this may sound weird…I’ve decided that she has similar properties of Elmer’s glue. I’m sure she sometimes feels invisible, but really she is the key substance that holds our family together.
Happy Birthday Mom!
May you have more relaxing days like this :)
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