My mom is just plain awesome, and my best friend. I talk to her almost on a daily basis, whether by phone or email.
My mom is one of the most patient people I know. I don't ever remember her losing her temper or yelling at us kids as a child. I'm sure she got frustrated with us plenty, but I remember her always keeping her cool and being very patient. And even now with my kids, she is very patient with them and they love to be around her.
My mother is very creative. She does leather work that is beautiful. But the thing that she is really talented at is bead work. She doesn't make jewelry, but invents and creates some of the most beautiful Christmas Ornaments out of beads. She can make little animals with beads. She's made a covered wagon drawn by horses. The things she makes are amazing. I have come to the point where I decorate my Christmas Tree only in her bead ornaments. I love how the lights from the tree will reflect off of the beads. And they are just so beautiful and elegant hanging on the tree.
My mother is also very smart. There was no area of homework that she couldn't help me in. She knows her History, she's great at English, and was a Physics Major in college so she knows her math well. My mom plays chess like nobody's business, and it's her favorite game to play. Often you could find mom playing a game of chess against herself, learning new moves and tactics. My mom is an avid reader and fan of Science Fiction. She's read practically every Star Trek novel and Star Wars novel out there. My mother also happens to be a writer. She's not been published yet, but I hope one day her dreams of becoming published will be realized. She's very good at writing and has some amazing stories she's written.
My mom is also an avid BYU fan, and so am I. I was taught well. She is a member of cougar club and has season tickets to all the football games. Going to a football game with mom are probably some of my favorite memories. When we lived way out in Tooele, it was an all day event to go to a game. Well, it still is and they live in West Jordan now. We would leave in the morning with all of our game gear in the trunk. We always drove the back way down to Provo. That was always time when we would have conversations with mom about anything and everything. Just one on one time to chat and talk the whole drive. When we would arrive at the stadium, we would head into the Cougar Room for lunch and the Pre-game briefing. We would get to our seats with a few moments to spare before the teams would head into the locker rooms. I always loved being at the games, the feel of the crowd, the smells of the food, the fresh autumn air, the noise of the cheering, and the yelling and screaming when our team made a good play. Standing up and singing the National Anthem before the game was always the highlight of the day. I especially loved it when we played Air Force and would get a fly by over the stadium. It was always a better drive home when we had won, of course. But win or lose, the drive home was always fun with listening to the post game shows. I don't get to as many of the football games with my mom as I used to. It's very hard for me to be able to sit on those bleachers for that long with my back the way it is. But the memories I have of games gone by will always stick with me.
And as I mentioned in a few posts back, we grew up with a garden and mini-orchard. My mom is very skilled at canning. We always had jars of canned fruits, our freezer was full of the good frozen veggies. My mom would make all kinds of Jams and Jellies. I have been spoiled all of my life and really can't stand eating Jam or Jelly bought from the store. It can't hold a candlestick to homemade. My grandma, Bammer, invented a wonderful spaghetti sauce and my mother for many years has taken over the responsibility of making it every fall. I love walking into my parents house with the smell of 'Specialy' cooking. My mom would always have homemade pie fillings in the freezer and every Sunday would make a pie for dessert. And her Apple Pie is by far the best.
My mom also has Crohn's Disease. She's was diagnosed long before they really understood what the disease was and consequently has had her fair share of surgeries to remover parts of her intestines. They now have really good medications to keep the disease under control. Through it all my mom has kept a positive attitude and I don't ever remember seeing her let her condition get the best of her. She's always positive and upbeat. I think I get my fighting spirit and positive attitude about my Scoliosis from my mom. The ability to press through adversity.
I love my mom very much. I love that she's a part of my life. I love her example she sets. I love how she has always been there for me. I'm not sure over the years if I have expressed fully to my mom just how much I appreciate her and love her. So, for this Mother's Day I want her to know she's the best. Happy Mother's Day mom, I love you!!
