Mamma Mia

Because I grew up in a very close family, I've always had a good relationship with my mom. She made the decision to homeschool my sister and me starting my first grade year. This means she was not only my mom, but my teacher, for six years. Since she taught me and Erin, she would stay home with us during the summer as well. One of the things I remember about my childhood is all of the creative things she would come up with for us to do (usually with my cousin Amy also). We were constantly finding the fun in free things like riding the downtown trolley or having a picnic at Turtle Creek. I can assure you this, there was never a summer day that I was bored.

My mom and I were able to maintain a strong relationship even after I made the move to a private school in the seventh grade. She would stay involved in our extracurricular activities and always help out at sports practices. On top of this, there was dinner on our table just about every night and our clothes were cleaned and folded on a daily basis. Even after I got accepted to Baylor a week before classes started, my mom was the one driving down to Waco with me as we frantically tried to get me into the classes I needed.

While I was in college, I would call my mom on a regular basis, not out of obligation, but because I would miss talking with her. She kept me grounded during the years in college that I struggled to find myself. And every semester when finals rolled around, I would patiently wait for my "finals care package" full of trail mix, candy, fruit and whatever other various treats she would include. When I would come home for my birthday each year from college, my favorite birthday meal would be on the table along with a homemade birthday cake for dessert. It is those things that made me feel so loved and cared for by my mom.

Since I graduated from college, my mom has gone through more than any woman I've ever met. Everyone who knows her knows how strong she really is and how much she has grown in the past year and a half. I don't want to make this blog post about the woman my mom has become, because quite honestly she has been just as incredible the entire 25 years I've known her. She is the most compassionate and caring woman I know and I have no doubt many people would agree. I know she will be fussy when she realizes I wrote this because she wants to stay out of the spotlight when at all possible, but sometimes you have to give recognition where it is due. And honestly, this is overdue. I hope one day I can become as strong and selfless a mom, daughter and wife as my mom.