Smile4me-4ever...
LiveWell, Love Much, Laugh Often and Smile 4 ever
"My mother is the most beautiful woman I ever seen.
All that I am or ever hope to be, I owe to my Mother.
I attribute all my success in life to the moral,
intellectual and physical education I received from her."
My Mom became a mother on August 10th, 1070. That was the day I was born. I know I didn't know how much she would mean to me on that day but throughout my life I have learned. Of course I don't remember my younger years. I have heard stories and seen pictures. However, I was very young when I new how much my mother did for me and for our whole family. My Mom is a very strong woman. She was the homemaker growing up. She made our home what it was and she is the reason our lives were so wonderful. Never perfect but what is perfect anyways? To me my world was about as perfect as it could be. I don't ever remember a time when my Mom and I weren't close. Sure we had times when we lived in the same house and didn't speak for days. That was our stubborness. However, when it counted most, my Mom and I had a great relationship. I remember having many talks with my Mom. She was the best person at listening. She kind of removed herself as Mom to listen, her advise was usually to guide me to see the other person's point of view. Sometimes I just wanted her to say I was right. I know now, that wouldn't of been in my best interest to tell me I was right. My Mom had a way of listening and advising that really made you think. I don't know that she always gave me, the answer so to speak, but she did fill me with thoughts I hadn't considered. Seeing the other person's side or other scenarios to a situation. This helped me considerably. It taught me how to think and to not just always feel, but to step out of the situation and look at the facts on hand. Then to come up with a better solution for all involved. My Mom gave me options of solutions better ways of doing things so that not to make mistakes. She taught me right and wrong and how to treat people. My feelings are important but my feelings aren't always the only ones that mattered. She taught me to give people chances. She taught me how to give of myself but to be cautious not to give to much to soon. How to protect myself but still get out there and live life. She's an amazing woman and I am so happy to be her daughter. She still continues to teach me each and everyday!!
"The most important thing a Mother can do for his children is to love their Father."
My Mom was a wonderful wife. Growing up, my parents had very few arguements. They had a way of communicating with one another that sometimes words didn't need to be spoken. My Mom took care of the house and us kids, my Dad provided for our family. That was just the way it was, my Mom wasn't one to burden my Dad with problems she had with us while he was at work. She handled them and when my Dad came home, he got to enjoy his daughters. He came home to a happy family. My Mom grew up with alot of fighting in her family. She was not going to have that for her children. She accomplished that goal. My parents love for one another ran deep. It was very clear to me at a young age, how good they were together. As time went on and I grew up and got married, I then realized just how much I wished I had love like they do. I didn't have that for years. I just thought it was a different generation. I know now, you have to truly love one another to have that kind of happiness and more importantly, you must have faith and respect for one another. My parents had it all. My Mom would walk in the room and my Dad's face would still light up after 30 yrs of marriage. My Mom, always put my Dad's needs before hers. I remember Mom and Dad playing around together all the time. My Mom would tease, poke and pinch my Dad and they would laugh. Sometimes Dad would get angry but it wasn't that he really was mad just couldn't play no more. She would ticker him out LOL My Mom and Dad's love was always there, visually you could see it. You heard it in the things they said to eachother, but there actions were done out of love for eachother. There love for eachother came out in everything that happen throughout our lives. It was the love they had for one another, that allowed my sister and I to become the people we are today. There choices guided us and will always guide us until we no longer live. I am so thankful, for the love they had for eachother and the love they shared with us. I owe them both so much for giving me the life they did and for sharing each and every moment with me. Never, have I had to go through a day of my life without them. I truly was blessed with 2 wonderful parents!!!
"God could not be everywhere and therefore he made mothers."
My sister and I grew up in a very happy family. We knew Mom and Dad loved one another and we never doubted there love for the 2 of us. As a child, I had fear of my Mom. My Mom was tough but loving. We weren't beat by any means, but when my Mom told us to do something and we didn't, she acted on it. She gave us our count of 3 to get our butts in shape, but if we pushed her, she didn't back down. She would crack our ass and we knew what it was for each time. We didn't suffer from it, we learned from it. I thank my Mom for the way she disciplined us. She taught me so much. Sometimes, you don't always agree but honestly, it made me who I am today. I have respect for people, respect for myself, I do what is right most of the time and I think about my actions and how they will effect others in my life. That is from the up bringing she gave me, through the guidance she has always been there to share with me.
When you are a mother, you are never really alone in your thoughts.
A mother always has to think twice, once for herself and once for her child.
My Mom had a reason for doing the things she did. She never did anything without a lesson in there someplace. Not that at a child I necessarily understood the lesson but I have learned as an adult, how important those lessons now have become. We had rules, and we had consequences for breaking those rules. I don't look back now and think our rules were bad. I really feel pretty fortunate that I had the rules I was given. They kept me safe and out of trouble. I was a pretty good kid, I think LOL I didn't get into alot of trouble but I did have a mouth on me and my Mom's got the fastest backhand in the whole wide world LOL Many split lips in my day. I always say, my lips are so full cuz Mom was always puffin them up LOL I had a bad habit of rolling my eyes, Mom hated that and I got popped a few times for rolling my eyes. * ha ha* Yet I still to this day do it! LOL! What Mom said was the way it was, Tina and I did alot of fighting. Honestly, we really didn't like one another. We are completely different in many ways. We just fought alot. I remember a time, we were headed to the U.P. which is hours away. Tina and I started fighting in the backseat of the car just a few miles from home. Mom warned us to behave, she had always gotten us things to keep us occupied in the car, so there was no reason to be fighting. We had a long drive. So, as we fought, Mom counted to 3, normally before 3 we stopped. This time, we did not, so hours down the road we stop and we get out of the car, Bam, there goes Mom's flip flop to our ass. We knew what it was from, she didn't forget like we had hoped she would. We didn't say a word, we took it and continued our trip. I laugh now because I wished I had done that to Jason. I was the Mom who counted to 3 a million times and if he finally behaved, nothing came of it. Bad move on my part. Mom's way worked! There's consequences for your actions and learning it as a child is much better then learning after a big mistake that you can't get out of, this world has consequences, I thank my Mom for teaching me this at an early age.
Mothers and daughters are closest, when daughters become mothers.
I have always had a great relationship with my Mom. Never did I think it would get any better then it was when I was a teenager. I was wrong, when I became a mother myself, I seen her in a whole new light. She was now a grandma, a "Ma'' to Jason. Oh what a wonderful site that is to see the woman you loved all your life, hold your child, and guide him through life with you. My Mom was there each step of the way in raising my son. She guided me again, through my hard times, and my trying times as a mother. She would laugh at me when Jason was doing the things I used to do as a child. I didn't like that so much then, I wanted an answer how to fix it. There is never a perfect answer to any problem. She was always there with great advise and stories of her own to share with me. I don't know if she really understands how much those times meant to me. I can't imagine how Jason would of turned out had she not been a part of my life through those times. Iknow Jason's life would not been the same without her either. Jason's favorite person in the world is my Mom. When he was little, I was always second to "Ma''. At first, it hurt my feelings but I understood why, she was my Mom, I loved her the same way. I just enjoyed the love he has for her and was quite okay with being second. There is noone I would of taken 2nd to other then my Mom. They played together all the time. No matter what that child needed, my Mom was the one who made it possible for him. I feel her and I raised him together. She always had a say in what was best for him and I was happy about that. Not always, sometimes it wasn't always a good thing but I didn't question it, I just took it for what it was, a grandma's love for her grandson. Shes a protector, I should never of thought it would be any different and I am glad it wasn't, things sure wouln't of been the same. My Mom was there for his birth and was there for each and every event in his life. She made life for me much better just by being there to hold my hand so to speak. She truly is my best friend, in good and bad, she's who I turn to when I need honesty and love. She always knows what is best, she hasn't steered me wrong yet and I know in my heart she never will. That's just the person she is, if she loves you, it's forever! Good or Bad, she loves you!
When you look at your life, the greatest happinesses are family happinesses.
When Duane and I met, I worried that my family wasn't going to understand my decisions. Yes, I understood they felt like I rushed into my relationship. I didn't, I followed my heart like I was taught. I stood up for what I believed in and they would eventually see that I made a great decision. Just needed to have faith in me. My Dad took things very hard but I feel my Mom just watched and analyzed things. She listened to my side and she listened to what my plans were and I think she hoped for the best. My Dad was more the problem, he just couldn't understand what I was thinking. It was a father protecting his daughter. I needed him to have faith that I wasn't crazy. My Mom and Duane had a heart to heart talk and so much changed after that, my Mom took the time to get into Duane's head and heart to see what kind of person was living with her daughter and most importantly her grandson. I wasn't surprised, when Duane told me, I smiled...That's my Mom :-) She wouldn't judge someone without at least getting to know who they are, from them. That was important to her, so that she could better understand the situation. She's a thinker an nothing is blk and wht to my Mom. She helped my Dad see that there was no changing the situation but what they had to do was be a part of it, so that if things were progressing wrong, they could guide us in the right direction, or worst case scenario, be there for Jason if I was making a huge mistake. So that's just what they did and they realized what a wonderful choice I did indeed make and they too learned to love Duane. Duane trusts my Mom more then he trusts many people, I know he loves my Mom as a Mom. Not as "my''Mom but as his very own. She has opened her heart to him and she has been there for him, as she was and is for me. It means the world to me that he loves her and she loves him the way they do, sharing my Mom with Duane is priceless. He never had a real Mom figure other then Grama Whittum, so it's wonderful to me for him to see what 'real' Moms do for their children. She's a huge influence on him and it means the world to me.
It's such a grand thing to be a mother of a mother - that's why the world calls her grandmother.
My Mom is an amazing "Ma'' to both Jason and Chris. Since the day Jason was born, I started to see my Mom in a different light. I can honestly say, I was a little jealous, I seem to take a back seat to him. He was the one she was most concerned with and that was so hard to adjust to, not that I didn't love how much she loved her grandson. Just I was used to getting the attention LOL Spoiled rotten I guess I was, however, I soon started to smile about that more then anything. I was able to see my Mom loving my son and guiding me into raising him to be who he is today. My Mom and Jason had a great bond, he loves her most of all, I know this and accept this, he truly is his favorite. That's how it really should be, so long as I become that person one day when I am a grandma. Watching the two of them gave me great emotion for the Mom I didn't see while I was a child. It was so wonderful to see my Mom smile when Jason accomplished something or did anything really, that smile is priceless. She beams with pride over her grandson, he can do no wrong, I know differently but I'm the Mom. LOL I great to appreciate my Mom even more, I didn't think that was possible, but it was the next step in our relationship. I was a Mom and she was a "Maw" and each of us loved him and were able to share that with eachother. She was there every step along the way, she always thought I would have to say, step back Mom. Never, did I have to say that, I wanted her right where she was and still do. I still lean on her to guide me and hope I always will and when she's gone, I just hope I can do it without her. I worry about that very much, don't always give her what she deserves but I can't imagine my life without her. Anyways, back to happy note. Since Duane and I been together, she had to take on the role of Maw again, this time to a 10yr old boy. It was a very long hard battle but she never gave up. She always treated Chris like he was a part of this family, he received the same things Jason did and never did she fault him out of a Maw. He tested her over and over again and may always, but I believe they have a good relationship and I know my Mom loves him very much. She has always been good to Jason and now she is good to Chris, it's a wonderful feeling. It's a great feeling for both Duane and I, but I didn't expect anything differently, she raised me. For Duane, it's a fairy tale come true. A happyness he never thought possible to have, I am very glad to be the one who could give that to him, and able to share him with my family and my family with him. He loves how much Mom does with and for the kids and it's a great feeling to see his son being loved by someone so special. This is a very emotional place for Duane but it makes the rest of us smile. I know my Mom knows how much Duane really loves her and it's a great thing. Jason and Chris really do alot for my Mom. They worry about her all the time and make sure they check up on her. They go to her for advice and to talk and just to hang out, they love spending time with their "Maw" It makes me happy to know they love her just as much as I do :-)
Mom and Duane have a terrific relationship, she's his counselor, that's who he goes to when he really needs to talk. I always feel she says the same things I do, but he understands her better because he relates to her in many ways. I say, Hell Yeah she does, my Mom knows what to say, how to say it and she will tell you where you went wrong in the situation and how you should go about dealing with it. She's the best person I know to give advice, you may not always like it, but if you truly give it thought, you will realize she truly is right. So you take her advice and good things happen to you. I am so glad Duane has her and I know he don't want to think about his life without her either.
If I had known how wonderful it would be to have grandchildren, I'd have had them first.
“When I stopped seeing my mother with the eyes of a child,
I saw the woman who helped me give birth to myself.”
This quote means alot to me. Like I said, I have seen my Mom in so many ways, she truly is an inspiration to me. She has guided me through life, allowing myself to make mistakes but always there to help me back up on my feet and give me my other choices of how I could of avoided that mistake. That has meant the most to me and that is how I try to live my life. My Mom makes me think, she makes me feel and she makes me look outside the box so to speak. She's just a woman with alot of great answers to any question I have ever asked her. We didn't grow up wealthy but we grew up happy and safe, in a place surrounded by love. Even if they had to bite there tongues, my parents didn't fight in front of us. They didn't discuss issues of adult nature in front of there kids, but they did make us aware of the problems in the world and how they do effect you and everyone around you. I never went without, I didn't always get designer jeans and expensive jewelry, but I got the most precious of gifts, my parent's love. My Mom came last in our family, she always made sure we had what we needed, Dad included. My Mom sacrificed alot through her life. My Mom tells me the story of when she found herself. The day she really looked at herself and said, I like who I am. I know what she means because I found myself after my divorce. It's the most wonderful feeling you can truly ever feel. I see who my Mom is so differently now, she is a woman and a very beautiful woman.
My Mom went through some changes when my Dad became disabled and she took on a job. She was working for the first time in my life. I was probably close to 30 when she first started working. Now she used to work for my Dad's gas station but this was a real job, her first interview, everything. My Dad was so proud of her. She has worked her way up the ladder to team lead, a pretty good position without going into management, which I hope she never goes for LOL She enjoys her job and she has made some wonderful friends at work. I mean, true friends, not just work buddies. One of her friends from work she took to vegas with her. How cool is that? LOL The people she works for supported her when my father passed away, the support they showed was unreal, but they love her and I understand why. Watching her with her friends is a great feeling. To see her laugh and be goofy with other people is just wonderful. It truly gives me chills. My sister Tina and I subbed for her bunco team and we joked, so we get to hang out with Mom's friends and see how Mom really is, she's just our goofy silly Mom. They are a great group of girls and you can see how much they like Mom. So, I guess Mom didn't just get to watch me grow. I too, got to watch her grow and I owe that all to the relationship me and my Mom share. She started out my Mom and became my best friend in the process, the only true friend I have ever had and may possibly ever have in my life. I am thankful, I don't believe everyone has someone in there life quite like I have with my Mom. I hope everyone does, but I certainly don't know to many people that even come close. She to me is like a rare diamond and I am sure she would be rolling her eyes, but deep down, I think she feels like a diamond too. If ya don't Ma, I'm kickin your ass! I won't be alone either LOL I'm bringin the gang! What can I say, I have the best Mom in the whole wide world!!!
