Wednesday, February 1, 2012

NaBloPoMo ~ Relative

NaBloPoMo February 2012
click here to learn more

I've toyed with the idea of doing a NaBloPoMo for a while.  I've enjoyed reading posts that my bloggy D-moms have done for previous months and have admired the commitment it takes to blog everyday.  So, since February is a short month ;) I'm going to give it a go!!

The theme this month is: Relative.  And today's prompt is to write about your mother.


My mother.

In a word, she is AMAZING!

As in most families, it's the mom who keeps things together.  My mother is no exception.

She was always (and still is) the 'go to mom' for anything you might need.  What is in her purse could get MacGyver out of any situation he might find himself in.
Button popped off?  She has a safety pin, at the very least and possibly a needle a thread to sew it back on.
Upset about a situation?  She has tissues, powder for your nose, and pain reliever for a headache.
Breath not so fabulous?  She has TicTacs and gum.
Hang nail?  Clippers and emery board to the rescue!
She was the mom who would pack half of her suitcase with feminine products for a weekend youth retreat or high school band trip just in case anyone was caught off guard by that time of the month...and was I ever happy she did when I had my first period on a youth retreat!

She is the diplomat of our family.  Never really shaken or upset by much, she is the one who would just purse her lips and shake her head, then let it go.  How I wish I had more of that!

Growing up, she was a stay at home mom...house wife as they were called 'back then.' ;)  She kept the laundry clean and folded, floors vacuumed and mopped, and dinner on the table pretty much every night.  In fact, I don't remember my mother not making dinner every night until my sister went to high school and we started having pizza delivered for football game nights as we were all involved in marching band.  In fact, my dad even made a New Year's Resolution one year (that lasted for years to come) that we would go out to eat on Sundays after church so my mother wouldn't have to make lunch.  She would always put something yummy in the oven on a timer to be ready as we were walking in from service.  Still one of my fondest memories of my childhood....walking in from the Georgia heat into a wave of air conditioning and the smell of pot roast and veggies.

My mother is the one everyone goes to for sage advice.  She can listen to you rant and rave, cry and sputter without judgement and offer her thoughts in a way that just makes everything right with the world again.  She has always been there to listen, even when I didn't feel like talking and could only sit and cry...whether on my bed growing up or through the phone from thousands of miles away now.  There's nothing like talking to your mother to make things better, even if nothing really changes about the situation.

When my dad was diagnosed with brain cancer in November of 2006, my mother did what she always does. She took care of everything.  She kept detailed notes and files on everything from doctors visits and phone calls to medicine protocols to getting things 'in order' when things took a turn for the worse two years later.
She, being 5'6", would help him, being 6'3", in and out of the bed, in and out of the wheelchair, in and out of his recliner in the living room, on and off of the toilet for the last few months of his life when his body would no longer cooperate and allow him to do such 'easy' things.  She did this will little to no sleep, listening always to make sure he was OK.  She did this with very little help, very few breaks.  She did this because of her love for him, because what else would she do for the man she'd been married to for almost 40 years?  He needed her and she was there, it's as simple as that.

And she's been there for me, too, just because I've needed her.  Whether on the phone at all hours of the day and night or getting on a plane and flying for 8 hours to help out when Bean had surgery and Bug was just 18 months old.  She's jumped in, right along side us, with Bean's diabetes.  Even though we only see her once or so a year, she knows about carb counts, SWAGing, BG checks, pod changes, and all of the unpredictability and frustrations that come along with Diabetes.  She listens to me go on and on about basal rates and bolusing and BGs being wacky for no apparent reason and alarming pods and carb factors and school related challenges and on and on and on.  She lets me talk things through, even if she doesn't fully understand (because, honestly, unless you live with it 24/7/365, you can't really understand...crap, I don't always understand and I DO live it 24/7/365!).  But she listens, and that's sometimes all you really need.

In a word, my mother is AMAZING!

I try to be like her as a woman, a wife, a mother.  She has given me such an amazing example to follow.

I am truly blessed to call her Mother.

Christmas 2010

Christmas 2011

4 comments:

  1. Yay! Love this post! Now I want to meet your mother (or borrow her).

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  2. LOVE! Your mom sounds amazing! ((hugs))

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  3. aww this post had me in tears! Your Mom sounds incredible and I completely admire her strength. Not only are you lucky to have her as a Momma....but SHE is lucky to have such an AMAZING daughter too! :o)

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  4. Oh, I loved reading about your Mother! How blessed you are to have such an amazing and supportive Mom. Moms are the best!

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Hey, Thanks for sharing!! Your comments make me :)!!
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