I thought a lot about being a mother today, on Mother's day. I love being a mother. I love raising my children, I love teaching them and watching them learn. I love watching them grow, I love (almost) all the little stages and phases. I love their simple joy and wonder in the world. I love their innocence, their laughter, their tight hugs and cuddles, and I love that they need me and most of all, I love that I can be there for them through it all. I also love other mothers. As the years of my motherhood increase, so does my admiration and respect for other mothers. There is so much that I admire in others and I watch my friends as they mother their children and try to learn from their examples. I pray every day that I can be a better mother. There are only a few other things in my life (being a wife, and being a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints) that bring me such peace and joy.
I will always be grateful that I have such a wonderful and loving mother in my life. My mom has always been a source of passion, exuberance, energy, and love in my life. She filled my childhood with nature hikes and camping trips that I will never forget. She would often catch a bug, or a lizard, or a snake and bring it to us for us to see and touch. The world of insects and bugs and ampibians was a wonder to me as a child, I felt like natures endless bounty was open for us to explore. Every hike was like our own little petting zoo! We sang songs joyously as we hiked with the boundless energy of youth. We would walk along river and stream beds, climb the hills to a swimming hole or just walk to enjoy being in nature. We went camping every summer as children and these trips, piled with our friends and all our equipment into our car, are some of my fondest memories. Only now, as I plan camping trips as an adult, do I appreciate all the work she put into those trips! I just remember waking up early excited for each day, whether we would play in the ocean, go on an eary morning walk at low tide and search for shells and starfish, play games at our campsite, or go for a hike that ended at a lake and get into a crazy mud fight. I will always cherish my childhood because of what she gave to us. I will always try to follow her example with my own children.
She one of the most compassionate and unjudgemental people I know. She loves everyone. She would stick up for Satan if she thought he was being unfairly judged! She is such a great example to me, and I continue to find things that I can learn from her. She is a strength and a support to me. She understands me and makes me feel sane when I think I am going crazy. As we have grown our relationship has become more and more a deep friendship. I am so grateful that we have stayed close to family and that I can call her up to go to the gym with me or plan a lunch or movie date. She is the perfect mother for me, and I can never tell her enough how much I love her!
Happy Mother's Day to all!
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2 comments:
What a blessing your mother is! I can definitely relate. A good mother is a gift beyond measure. From what I know of her, I think your mom is pretty great too. And you are a fabulous mom too, Margaret! You obviously learned from a pro!
Hi Margaret! I remember these camping trips with your mom! It was always so much fun! I will never forget carrying snakes with us on our hikes, putting lizards on our heads, and that great mud fight we had in that lake that was drying up. I remember getting up early and going to the tidepools and taking home all sorts of cool shells (sadly, some which still carried live animals). Looking back, I don't know where your mom got all that energy to do all of that for us. I loved reading what you wrote about her-that is your mom exactly. Those are the things I love about her too.
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