Happy Birthday Mom. Ok so I missed it by a day but you won't read this anyways and it's really just a time for me to reflect on everything you've done for me in my lifetime.
From taking care of 3 girls on your own and doing what must have been difficult to move back with your parents and ask for help. I can't imagine the humbleness but I know you did that for your girls and didn't think for a second to do anything different.
Never letting us see your pain of dealing with the loss of a daughter that you only knew for a few hours. I've allways known how much you love Irene even in the silence as I remember visiting her grave every year.
Letting us figure out on our own as young women how marriage to our father was anything but perfect. You never spoke a bad word about...well let's just face it he was a bad seed, enough said.
From taking care of 3 girls on your own and doing what must have been difficult to move back with your parents and ask for help. I can't imagine the humbleness but I know you did that for your girls and didn't think for a second to do anything different.
Never letting us see your pain of dealing with the loss of a daughter that you only knew for a few hours. I've allways known how much you love Irene even in the silence as I remember visiting her grave every year.
Letting us figure out on our own as young women how marriage to our father was anything but perfect. You never spoke a bad word about...well let's just face it he was a bad seed, enough said.
I never heard you curse out of rage or anger. I have never heard you gossip or say an unkind word about anyone. I have never known you to make a bad decision in your life. I guess that's why I hold you up on a pedestal :-)
You raised us and rarely dated but put us first in your life. You worked full time and still managed to take us to piano lessons. I never knew that money was tight and that a piece of gum or going out for yogurt was a hardship for you. We were allowed to be kids and never knew the drama of adult life.
I remember being told of a young woman who had dreams of being a nurse and worked with the young men coming back from Vietnam and gentle touch and caring voice made them feel "normal".
You brought special memories to my life that included going to Disneyland and making a road trip of going to Universal Studios and Knotts Berry Farm. You shared the joy of music with us by taking us to The Starlight Bowl and remember musicals like the Sound of Music or the Music Man. That love of music grew and changed as we got older as you took us to the concerts of the Christian Rock band "Crumbacher" and actually stayed and listened to the music. And who can forget taking 4 teenage girls to the Del Mar Fair to see Mr. Mister!
You brought special memories to my life that included going to Disneyland and making a road trip of going to Universal Studios and Knotts Berry Farm. You shared the joy of music with us by taking us to The Starlight Bowl and remember musicals like the Sound of Music or the Music Man. That love of music grew and changed as we got older as you took us to the concerts of the Christian Rock band "Crumbacher" and actually stayed and listened to the music. And who can forget taking 4 teenage girls to the Del Mar Fair to see Mr. Mister!
Holidays included getting together with family at "El Nido" to share the typical meal which happened to allways include rice and beans...Mimi's favorite! hee hee.
Who could be into boys when you gave us other things to be distracted by? In 1984 we had season tickets to the Padre Games. Somehow you managed to get off work early and take us to the games early so we could meet Eric Show, Dave Dravecky, Mark Thurmond and the other Pads to get autographs. Taking us to Jack Murphy Stadium when the Padres were down to one last game of being eliminated and being 3 of the 3000 people who welcomed them back. What time did we get up in the morning? We're you nuts?
Giving us the experience of travel. From Yosemite to Montery to Hawaii, Washington D.C. are the most memorable trips. Giving me the love of the Olympics and actually getting to say that I went to an Olympic Event and World Series game. Allways making us stop for pictues and making sure someone was in the picture. I wonder who I got that from? I'm not sure exactly where to put this but for doing the little things for us like packing our lunches, making us have chores, buying us underwear for Valentines day.
Joining a church that gave us the foundation of God's Word. Also for actively participating in being a youth leader. You realized as we grew older that we needed more than just each other. You moved us out into our own home as Mimi and I grew older and allowed us to have our friends over and be ourselves...even if it meant turning off the cable so we could have our converse tennis shoes.
Who could be into boys when you gave us other things to be distracted by? In 1984 we had season tickets to the Padre Games. Somehow you managed to get off work early and take us to the games early so we could meet Eric Show, Dave Dravecky, Mark Thurmond and the other Pads to get autographs. Taking us to Jack Murphy Stadium when the Padres were down to one last game of being eliminated and being 3 of the 3000 people who welcomed them back. What time did we get up in the morning? We're you nuts?
Giving us the experience of travel. From Yosemite to Montery to Hawaii, Washington D.C. are the most memorable trips. Giving me the love of the Olympics and actually getting to say that I went to an Olympic Event and World Series game. Allways making us stop for pictues and making sure someone was in the picture. I wonder who I got that from? I'm not sure exactly where to put this but for doing the little things for us like packing our lunches, making us have chores, buying us underwear for Valentines day.
Joining a church that gave us the foundation of God's Word. Also for actively participating in being a youth leader. You realized as we grew older that we needed more than just each other. You moved us out into our own home as Mimi and I grew older and allowed us to have our friends over and be ourselves...even if it meant turning off the cable so we could have our converse tennis shoes.
Encouraging us to move out on our own to give us the independence and responsibility of adults and then taking me back into your home with your new husband with no strings attached.
Your testimony was displayed in your everyday life. Your faith in God is your greatest attribute. From knowing that His Will would be done when my surgeon told me I might need a hysterectomy at age 22. I never and still don't know how much you were anxious about this because your faith in God knew that I would be taken care of. Being there for Mimi when David was in Iraq. Your faith in God knew that David would be in His hands. Again a memory that I remember all too well was taking us to Jack Murphy Stadium for Jeff and Jer's human flag and being a part of that flag.
Encouraging me to make the step to go 2 hours away to Nursing School which was the best thing I could have done since that is where I met my husband.
You showed me the value of money. We were taught at a young age of tithing and we followed by example. You earned every penny you could and took us on trips or used the money from the divorce and bought a house that eventually would lead to the house that my son is growing up in and raised by the greatest gift you could give me which is sharing with him the values and morals that you did for us. I am so thankful that God gave you the opportunity to share Robbie's birth with you as you were there from the moment he was even thought about. You were so supportive along the infertility journey that Robert and I were on. I love that we were able to spend the week with me in Florida at the beginning of that journey which was followed with the difficult road that laid ahead of us in the emptiness of 4 failed IVF's and the toll it had on my body both mentally, physically and spirtually.
I pray that I am half the mom that you have been for me in these years and know that being the fourth and last babygirl that you gave birth too might have been a flick of a dissappointment at first in knowing that I wasn't a boy but that I have grown into the woman that you have wanted me to be. Love you mom for all that you've done in my life and will continue to enjoy the years that God has given you to us.
You showed me the value of money. We were taught at a young age of tithing and we followed by example. You earned every penny you could and took us on trips or used the money from the divorce and bought a house that eventually would lead to the house that my son is growing up in and raised by the greatest gift you could give me which is sharing with him the values and morals that you did for us. I am so thankful that God gave you the opportunity to share Robbie's birth with you as you were there from the moment he was even thought about. You were so supportive along the infertility journey that Robert and I were on. I love that we were able to spend the week with me in Florida at the beginning of that journey which was followed with the difficult road that laid ahead of us in the emptiness of 4 failed IVF's and the toll it had on my body both mentally, physically and spirtually.
I pray that I am half the mom that you have been for me in these years and know that being the fourth and last babygirl that you gave birth too might have been a flick of a dissappointment at first in knowing that I wasn't a boy but that I have grown into the woman that you have wanted me to be. Love you mom for all that you've done in my life and will continue to enjoy the years that God has given you to us.
No comments:
Post a Comment