You are the steadfast rock through our family. I think that you have many people to thank who taught you or gave you that kind of strength; your father’s strong lecture about not “making a fuss” by crying at a funeral, or the “keep on going through the motions” attitude of your mother. Through-out all tests of your patience, faith, hope and love, you held strong and prevailed. It wasn’t always easy but you should be proud to know that you always took the high road and held strong with grace.
It’s on your birthday that I think about all the many reasons that I am so thankful to have you as a Mother. I can’t remember how many countless nights you stayed up helping me finish a paper, history project, or book report. Till 2am making a complete model of the solar system made entirely out of nothing but my favorite thing, candy. I can also remember all the many times you let me help bake cookies or cakes and goodies with you. I’m sure that contributed to the GREAT cooking skills I have today. The ridiculous amount of times I forgot my clarinet. You had to make an extra trip to go home and bring it back to me. I still call you frequently to seek your approval or opinion on the current events in my life. No matter how many times I fell or stumbled along my path you were always there for me.
Even through my experimentation with drugs. Which lead to all the endless rides, driving me everywhere for treatment or doctor’s visits. All while you were getting a 4.0 in graduate school in Berkeley, going through a divorce and let’s also not forget taking care of your other two teenagers. I take my proverbial hat off to you. I know that being a daughter, mother, scholar, teacher and mentor have all been thanks enough. But I would like to again thank you for all your love and support throughout my 27 years! You are truly appreciated and loved!
~Audra
Mom
As a shepherd you've watched over us
even when we're out of sight.
Your staff corralled our path and kept it true
even as we decided to stray.
As Lambs you nursed us with utmost care
and did not stop after we had weaned.
As adults you stayed by our side
even as we had left yours.
You are a shepherd among shepherds
and for that I must say,
You are a wonderful mother and have a happy birthday!
~Jake
Mom,
I will never be able to repay you for all the late night scares I caused you when I didn't call to check in. I will never be able to prepay you for the all the times you spoiled me with lunch after school. I will never be able to repay you for the all basic necessities you provide me with like the roof over my head or the clothes on my back. I will never be able to repay you for all the motherly advice you give me when I have come to another wall on my journey to independent adulthood.
But I will try to show you how much you mean to me through the years.
I will try to check in with you when I have moved out on my own and am engulfed in my new career. I will try to take care of you to the best of my ability when you no longer can. I will try to remind you of all the good memories of raising us kids. I will try to remember that you are not just my mom but you are a strong, fun, and driven human being.
Happy Birthday Mom!
I'm so glad that our journey to SoCal has given us a great life and that we had a place to form a close bond as mother and daughter. I will cherish the years we spent together in the Cameron Ct house and I can’t wait to embark on a new journey with you to Pasadena. You deserve to spend the next chapter in your life around the places you love and new and exciting things await you.
Love,
Leah
I could not be more proud of the wonderful adults each of you have become. It is so amazing to me that each of your individual personalities and your creativity is so evident in your separate entries. When I embarked upon motherhood, I set out to have creative and independent adults someday. I am blessed to have been part of each of your journeys. I am blessed to have creative and independent thinking adult children. I am blessed to have three kids with kind hearts and loving spirits. I am just blessed to be in your lives.
ReplyDeleteLove, Mom
I almost hate to interrupt this touching family lovefest, but the Mom's best girlfriend should have something to say. I often wonder how often adult children understand the huge sacrifices that a parent goes to for them. You all are not only blessed to have such an attentive and caring mother, but she also reared you to be sensitive enough to identify when you are loved in a very special way. May God keep you and continue to grant you a special love through your mother's heart. You done good, girl! What a wonderful achievement! Michael
ReplyDeleteI need to reiterate what Michael said..."You've gone good girl! What a wonderful achievement!"
ReplyDeleteI'm just so happy that we were able to show you how special we've each felt thoughout our years! Your blogs about each of us on our birthdays only solidified your love and perception of the people that we have become. It meant so much on my birthday to hear your eloquent yet comical interpretation of me! I only hope that I have given you the same enless gift!
I love you more that I can articulate!
Here's to to the next 50+ years of this new tradition that you have created!
It’s so nice to hear all the wonderful things your children have to say. I know the sacrifices that you made for them, sacrifices that you made willingly for the good of your children. But I want people to know this is who you are. This isn’t a decision you had to make, it just came naturally. Maybe not everyone understands that but I do. The two people who know this most is you and I.
ReplyDeleteYou had a lot of difficult training long before you ever had children of your own. It must have started at 8 or 9 for you, when our mother went back to work. At that young age you became responsible for your little brother (that would be me), and, according to you, I didn’t make it easy (I was a great kid… Honestly). I never really liked you having authority over me, but what brother would. However you always made sure I had breakfast, and I got to school safely and on time.
In the summers we were home alone through the day, and for the most part you kept me out of trouble and prevented any significant injuries. When I was injured you played nurse, and when I was scared by thunderstorms you comforted me. When salesmen would come to the door we’d hide behind our dad’s recliner until they were gone. How many people know you sang me to sleep when I was very little? I do. As a teenager you took care of our cousins, and helped our aunt take care of their home. My point here is that your children had the advantage of a pre-trained mother.
As a teenager I enjoyed spending a weekend at your apartment in Columbus. There were always good eats, and plenty to do. Even then you couldn’t stop watching out for me, steering the trashy women away from me. Although I am not sure you really understood that at that age boys like trashy women.
Later when I went to college in Columbus we spoke as often as we could afford by phone. I shared some of my more difficult moments of college with you, and went to you for advice. The first summer you were in Memphis I came to visit, and you taught me how (to some degree) to change a diaper, and take care of a baby. Yes, that was you Audra. Knowledge I would use some 8 years later.
When I was a young adult my first call after a date was to you. It was nice to have an older sister that I could talk freely to. When I met the woman who was to be my spouse you gave me advice and encouragement. It was you that helped me to decide to put aside the difference in age, and let the relationship go where it would. Twenty years later I can assure you it was the right decision.
So you see, Audra, Jacob, and Leah, your mother has experience to handle most anything you might come up against. Listen to her, and use that experience. Trust me when I say it may save you some energy. I guess in a way you can thank me for that, your mom learned by taking care of me. Let me caution you though, don’t let her drive while she’s putting on makeup. It was one of the most harrowing experiences in my life. True story… LOL.
Happy Birthday Love Bill, Sharon, Christopher, Phoebe, and Emma