Last week I announced that I had started on a new book. It was part of an old book that I had gotten stuck on and because life happened, I couldn’t get back to it. That was just fine though because I needed that time to figure out exactly where to go with it. Saturday our internet went out and I had all the time I wanted to write. I got out about 2000 words that evening.
My mom asked me when she’d get to start reading it. I sent her the book on Monday and told her it was no rush to get it back to me. She wrote back and said she didn’t know when she’d be able to get to it but she’d try.
Within an hour the edits were back. She’s awesome like that.
As Mother’s Day draws near, I tend to cringe. I love to honor the mothers in my life, but it seems that for me, everything that can go wrong, does go wrong on this special day. We’re talking sickness, gas leaks in the church (no joke), torrential rain in Australia, and screaming kids.
But that’s not what Mother’s Day is about. Mother’s Day is a day where we can show our mothers how much we love them. How grateful we are for them. It’s not about my day. It’s about my mother and grandmother and what they’ve done for me. It’s about the sweet cards and huge smiles on the faces of my kids as they tell me Happy Mother’s Day.
So today I want to share a little about the mothers in my life. They’re the best. No, really, they are.
My mom raised five kids and each of us played sports, took piano lessons, my brother did scouts, and my sister did tumbling. And my mom didn’t miss a single event. And if she did, it was for something that was beyond her control. I won’t forget that. Ever. I giggled at her “Darth Vader breathing” as she got so into the games she couldn’t handle it. She took up crocheting just to give her hands something to do.
Now that we have grown and left the house, you’d think her life would have calmed down. Not even a little. Now she travels to all of her grandchildren’s activities that she can get to, takes care of her mother, teaches a lifeguard class, and travels to different National Potato Board and National Potato Council meetings. She’s been to Asia, the Philippines, and all over the United States. She got to live her dream and visit Maine last year. She’s not only making a difference for my family, but for the world as she teaches people from other countries how to cook using potatoes.
Grandma Bartholomew is also a great example to me. Some of my favorite memories come from Grandma’s house. Fishing, hot dog roasts, egg hunts, sleepovers. You name it, we did it. I smile every time my mom takes up one more tradition that she learned from her mom. My grandma raised eight kids in a small home in Idaho. She taught them to work and how to play. I love going to visit her and hear her laugh, and see the twinkle in her eye.
Grandma Hardy was the most hilarious, sweetest lady ever. She went to all the home basketball games while we were growing up. She was honored several times for never missing an event. She sang in Sweet Adelines and took part in city events. We looked forward every year to the Cracker Jacks we would get for Halloween. She loved her family and visited with her daughter as often as she could. Christmas Eve was never complete without a visit from Grandma Bonnie. We shared favorite books and authors (Mary Higgins Clark) and loved to suggest books to each other.
My mother-in-law, Pat Weist, is one of the sweetest ladies you’ll ever meet. She raised four kids and they all have the same hilarious sense of humor as she does. She is always happy, always looking for the good in people, and loves to share stories. She sends cards, letters, and pictures for my kids to color all the time. I just need to get better at sending them back when they’re done! My kids know that when we go to visit, they’ll get to throw bread to the birds, take her garbage down to the dumpster (this is really an adventure they adore), visit the red rocks of St. George, read books with Grandma, and play Memory. She has the patience of a saint with the crazy energy of her grandkids.
I hope that as Mother’s Day comes, you’ll take the time to thank the mothers in your life. They’re the reason you’re here.
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