45 Years of Life to be Thankful For
You say it's your birthday? It's my birthday, too! Seriously. It really is.
After yesterday's post about saying thank you to people, I wanted to take a moment today for a public thanks to the best mom in the world...Mine.
Here's a Cliff Notes version of the story: April 1969, she's separated from her husband with a six year-old little boy to take care of. She's feeling sick so she goes to the doctor - to discover that she's seven months pregnant! Yep...she was one of 'those' girls that could be pregnant, not show and be losing weight. (A trait I did NOT inherit.) I was born in June (obviously, since today's my birthday.)
Anyway, fast forward to December 1992 and I was having a conversation with my mom and grandmother about Pro-Life vs. Pro-Choice. My grandmother was being very vocal about her Pro-Choice stance, when it suddenly occurred to me...back in 1969, during a time when it was all peace, love and flowers, my mother could have easily chosen to abort me. She was separated. She was already caring for a son, all by herself. No one knew she was pregnant. For whatever reason, this was the first time that I had considered the fact that she made a difficult choice when she chose life for me.
I looked at my mother, standing there in her out-of-date kitchen, drying her hands after washing all the dishes from our family Christmas dinner. Tears pooled in my eyes as I went to her, arms wide open, wrapping her up in a tight hug and choking on my own words, I whispered, "Thank you for keeping me." It was a moment I will never forget. I was so thankful to this woman for choosing life.
My life would make a great made-for-tv mini series. Mom's been married a few times, and we moved a few times...and there are many stories to share that my friends, whose parents have been married for forty-plus years can't relate to. But I have so much to be thankful for.
So, as I celebrate another year of living, I want to list 45 things I'm thankful to my mother for.
Thank you, Mom:
1. For choosing life.
2. For loving me.
3. For teaching me right from wrong.
4. For allowing me to fall, but helping me up each time I did.
5. For the Snoopy Colorforms set you got me for Christmas.
6. For bringing my big brother home after my dad kidnapped him.
7. For taking me to Granny's house where I learned that a cactus plant can hurt my nose.
8. For letting me have a horse...even if it lived at Granny's...even if it wasn't really mine.
9. For teaching me to share.
10. For my old furniture-crate play house.
11. For my black, patent Mary-Jane shoes that I got stuck under the neighbor's fence.
12. For the Easy Bake Oven.
13. For the bicycle you got from Uncle John so I could learn to ride.
14. For the Big Wheel.
15. For a surprise birthday party with Baskin Robbins ice cream cone clowns and my first pool!
16. For letting me keep the kitten we found under our trailer.
17. For making me go to church.
18. For taking me to Hanging Rock.
19. For piercing my ears.
20. For taking me to Granny Smoot's and letting me stay for days on end.
21. For the beautiful bedroom furniture that you got from my cousin, Julie. (Wish I still had it!)
22. For the baby doll that 'Santa' hid from me one Christmas morning.
23. For giving me that coupon book one year for Christmas when you couldn't afford a lot of gifts. (I do still have that, and would like to redeem the movie ticket coupon soon.)
24. For putting me in piano lessons.
25. For letting me ride my bike all over town without worrying about my constant whereabouts.
26. For letting me 'camp' in the backyard and try cooking over an open fire.
27. For being a foster parent and a Big Sister to less fortunate kids.
28. For believing in me.
29. For spanking me when I lied.
30. For teaching me to budget (even if it took me almost 40 years to start using that knowledge.)
31. For my baby brother. :)
32. For driving me across the country to see Yellowstone Park and spending my 12th birthday in a KOA campground in South Dakota.
33. For letting me go to prom with Randy (and buying me a beautiful dress!)
34. For sending me flowers when I got a promotion at Meis to department manager.
35. For letting me learn from my mistakes.
36. For waiting up.
37. For trusting me.
38. For my 15th birthday, when we camped at Kickapoo and you put Vickie in the trunk to surprise me.
39. For supporting me.
40. For bailing me out of many financial messes.
41. For forgiving me.
42. For taking care of my Granny during the last years of her life.
43. For graduating college and proving to me that you're never too old to go back to school. ;)
44. For finding Randy for me.
45. For being a godly woman.
For the record, I would like to say that there are exactly TWO things that I am NOT thankful for:
1. For making me eat peaches.
2. I can't remember the other one.
I love you, Mom. You've been my hero for 45 years. I know I don't tell you enough how much you mean to me. May God's riches flow over you and blessings overtake you for all the love that you've given me.
After yesterday's post about saying thank you to people, I wanted to take a moment today for a public thanks to the best mom in the world...Mine.
Here's a Cliff Notes version of the story: April 1969, she's separated from her husband with a six year-old little boy to take care of. She's feeling sick so she goes to the doctor - to discover that she's seven months pregnant! Yep...she was one of 'those' girls that could be pregnant, not show and be losing weight. (A trait I did NOT inherit.) I was born in June (obviously, since today's my birthday.)
I looked at my mother, standing there in her out-of-date kitchen, drying her hands after washing all the dishes from our family Christmas dinner. Tears pooled in my eyes as I went to her, arms wide open, wrapping her up in a tight hug and choking on my own words, I whispered, "Thank you for keeping me." It was a moment I will never forget. I was so thankful to this woman for choosing life.
My life would make a great made-for-tv mini series. Mom's been married a few times, and we moved a few times...and there are many stories to share that my friends, whose parents have been married for forty-plus years can't relate to. But I have so much to be thankful for.
So, as I celebrate another year of living, I want to list 45 things I'm thankful to my mother for.
Thank you, Mom:
1. For choosing life.
2. For loving me.
3. For teaching me right from wrong.
4. For allowing me to fall, but helping me up each time I did.
5. For the Snoopy Colorforms set you got me for Christmas.
6. For bringing my big brother home after my dad kidnapped him.
7. For taking me to Granny's house where I learned that a cactus plant can hurt my nose.
8. For letting me have a horse...even if it lived at Granny's...even if it wasn't really mine.
9. For teaching me to share.
10. For my old furniture-crate play house.
11. For my black, patent Mary-Jane shoes that I got stuck under the neighbor's fence.
12. For the Easy Bake Oven.
13. For the bicycle you got from Uncle John so I could learn to ride.
14. For the Big Wheel.
15. For a surprise birthday party with Baskin Robbins ice cream cone clowns and my first pool!
16. For letting me keep the kitten we found under our trailer.
17. For making me go to church.
18. For taking me to Hanging Rock.
19. For piercing my ears.
20. For taking me to Granny Smoot's and letting me stay for days on end.
21. For the beautiful bedroom furniture that you got from my cousin, Julie. (Wish I still had it!)
22. For the baby doll that 'Santa' hid from me one Christmas morning.
23. For giving me that coupon book one year for Christmas when you couldn't afford a lot of gifts. (I do still have that, and would like to redeem the movie ticket coupon soon.)
24. For putting me in piano lessons.
25. For letting me ride my bike all over town without worrying about my constant whereabouts.
26. For letting me 'camp' in the backyard and try cooking over an open fire.
27. For being a foster parent and a Big Sister to less fortunate kids.
28. For believing in me.
29. For spanking me when I lied.
30. For teaching me to budget (even if it took me almost 40 years to start using that knowledge.)
31. For my baby brother. :)
32. For driving me across the country to see Yellowstone Park and spending my 12th birthday in a KOA campground in South Dakota.
33. For letting me go to prom with Randy (and buying me a beautiful dress!)34. For sending me flowers when I got a promotion at Meis to department manager.
35. For letting me learn from my mistakes.
36. For waiting up.
37. For trusting me.
38. For my 15th birthday, when we camped at Kickapoo and you put Vickie in the trunk to surprise me.
39. For supporting me.
40. For bailing me out of many financial messes.
41. For forgiving me.
42. For taking care of my Granny during the last years of her life.
43. For graduating college and proving to me that you're never too old to go back to school. ;)
44. For finding Randy for me.
45. For being a godly woman.
For the record, I would like to say that there are exactly TWO things that I am NOT thankful for:
1. For making me eat peaches.
2. I can't remember the other one.
I love you, Mom. You've been my hero for 45 years. I know I don't tell you enough how much you mean to me. May God's riches flow over you and blessings overtake you for all the love that you've given me.
WHAT a gift you have given your mom right here...absolutely beautiful and I pray to receive such a gift one day! <3
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