My Mom…
my mom turned 60 years old yesterday.
My dad and I decided to take her out for dinner on her birthday. I was coming home from seminary and they were to meet me at a restaurant in Leduc at 6:30. Little did my mom realize that my brother and I had been scheming for six weeks. I had created and sent out about 40 invitations to family, friends, and neighbors. Almost everybody responded by coming out, loaded down with gifts and best wishes. Last night mom arrived to find EVERYBODY she loved waiting to celebrate this huge milestone. Of course…she cried…and hugged and kissed..and was naturally a little embarassed and a bit mad at me. but she got to see people she hadn’t seen in a long time. Including, her best friend Gail who she has known since childhood. And her brother whom she has not had a lot of contact with in a few decades. People came from miles and miles to be there to wish her a happy birthday.
My mom is an amazing woman. She raised two boys by herself until she met my dad and had my brother and I. She is a mom to seven kids, and a gramma to ten little ones. she loves kids and spends hours hugging and kissing her grandbabies. She has a kind heart, and would let nobody go hungry or be cold. She loves animals, and treats our pets like her babies. She is a crafter of patchwork quilts that warm the body as well as the heart. She has spent her life raising her babies, caring for the elderly, and giving of herself to anybody in need.
Growing up, my mom was my best friend, as well as a worthy adversary. She is my biggest cheerleader, and would go to the ends of the earth for me. She gives so much of herself, and rarely gets anything in return. She is cherished more than she knows, and i love her more than i can ever tell her. I miss her when i don’t talk to her every day. I worry about her constantly.
Mom is known for her warm quilts, her delicious coffee, her beautiful blue eyes, her kind heart, and the love she has for everyone, especially her family and friends. I wish that i could give her more than i have, and take her to places she has never been. I can never repay her for the gifts she has given me, but i will die trying.
And she’s funny! she’s my toothless old mommy with the great sense of humor who lets me take these crazy pictures of her acting like a dumbass! but she’s cool enough to get tweety bird tattoed on her arm and whip it out for complete strangers!
Oh mama…
Happy Thanksgiving!
Happy thanksgiving to one and all!
Today I am reminded of all that i have to be grateful for. I’m grateful for a mom who makes me ham instead of turkey on thanksgiving day. I”m grateful for a dad who will go in cahoots with me to plan a huge surprise bash for my mom. i’m thankful for a brother who calls me “sis” and sends me a billiion text messages a day. I’m thankful for a niece who sticks to me like glue whenever i’m around. i’m grateful for a nerdy little nephew who lets me call him poindexter. I’m grateful for brothers and sis’s in law who make time for me. I’m grateful for Michael who makes me feel like an amazing person, even though i’m not. I”m grateful for good friends who love me for me, depsite me. I’m grateful for a kitty who misses me enough to “play hate” me whenever i come home. I’m grateful for a dog who loves us even though he is deaf and blind. I’m grateful for a warm, cozy house on a nippy fall evening. I’m grateful for family friends who see us through thick and thin. I’m grateful for warm fuzzy slippers, and hot chocolate during a fall rainstorm. I’m grateful for a church family who is always full of hugs for a returning seminarian. I’m grateful for sunny skies and frost on the ground. i’m grateful for a smelly, rusty, beat up old Christine who always gets me home. I’m grateful for parents who give everything of themselves, expecting nothing in return. I’m grateful for text messages in the middle of the night, and early morning wake up calls even though they’re often annoying. i’m grateful for the kiss of a friend who misses me. i’m grateful for old posters from bygone teen years. i’m grateful for money found on a gas station’s bathroom floor. i’m grateful for a school who supports its students.
Most of all, i’m grateful for a god who has given me all the above, and more. I”m grateful for the things God does for me every moment of every day, even the things i do not see, hear, taste, touch, or smell. i’m grateful for blessings I don’t deserve. I’m grateful for everlasting grace that forgives me for the things i’ve done to God, myself, and others. I’m grateful for a savior who hung broken and bleeding on a tree. i’m grateful for 39 lashes, a crown of thorns, and nails piercing hands and feet. I’m grateful for a purple robe of glory, and for lots cast for a criminal’s clothes. i’m grateful for a dying Jesus taking on my sin, and the sin of the world. i’m grateful for a god who gives everything God has, an infinate number of blessings, too numerous to count, a drop in an ocean. i’m grateful that i have faith in a God who first had faith in me.
God bless you and yours this thanksgiving day.
