Mom's Day

Appropriately, I've been thinking a lot about my mother lately. For a lot of reasons, and yes, one of them being it was Mother's Day this last Sunday. I also had to give a talk in church about mothers, and in preparing for my talk I did a lot of researching and reading, and of course, thinking about how great my own mother is. I was thinking about how ironic it is that we don't fully appreciate our mothers until we get married and move out. Of course you love them, and are grateful for all the things they do for you on a daily basis, but you don't realize the incredible sacrifices they must have made for you, most likely without you even knowing. When I was little, I took for granted that dinner was always on the table, and my clothes magically reappeared in my closet, clean once again. I figured my mom had it easy - what'd she do all day while I was busy with IMPORTANT stuff, like school? I'd leave in the morning, dishes in the sink, scattered paper, toys, books lying around, and come home to a clean house, with my mom calmly preparing dinner. I probably figured she sat around most of the day enjoying the sun and reading magazines. Hopefully she DID do that, but I know that most of the time she was busy keeping the house from falling apart. When I got married and we moved up here, I couldn't find a job for several months. You'd think, and I definitely thought at FIRST, that I would have hours of time to relax, paint my toenails and get a tan. I quickly realized however, that keeping a house running smoothly took a lot a work! That no matter how well you cleaned it, it was always going to get dirty again, and no matter how well you kept up with the laundry, in a few short hours there'd be more. Perhaps I'm a little OCD, but I remember actually being UPSET when I'd look in the dirty clothes basket and find a sock or two - are you kidding me??!? I just spent 3 hours doing laundry!!!! And vacuum lines - haven't kicked that habit yet. I am OBSESSED about vacuum lines. If the world were perfect, no one would walk on the carpet for at LEAST 24 hours after it's been cleaned because dang it, I spent at least 10 minutes vacuuming and there's nothing to show for it if the dog tries to make his way to his water bowl from the corner I've put him in (the dog drinks more than humanly, or I guess I should say canine-ly possible). He knows I like vacuum lines, and he LOVES to mess them up - or so it seems. Anyway, I digress...mothers...right. I guess my point is, that I now realize why my mother would get upset when, after a full day of cleaning the house, her kids would come home from school and let their school bags fall to the floor, and create a pile of shoes and socks and papers and...even now I'm getting antsy. I used to wonder why she cared so much - and now I know. I wonder how things would be if I knew then what I know now. All I know is that I am grateful that she continued to put up with us, and that she's still sane after all these years. :) I don't know how she did it! She is a great mom, and a wonderful example. I have a lot to live up to. I see these new moms (Kjersti, that's you!) and soon-to-be's, and hope that they find comfort in the fact that in say, 20 years their children will finally understand a little about how much they did for them. :) I also think I've only scratched the surface - that the minute I hold my first child in my arms, I will again realize how much sacrifice was made for me, and again be overwhelmed with gratefulness. So Happy Mother's Day to all the mother's out there - it's the most important work you will ever do.
My mom's FAVORITE part of my wedding day - lacing up the dress....