Memories on Mothers Day

Yesterday i came across a channel on YouTube called Story-Corps. The videos were animations of peoples memories, that they had recorded at Story Corps, one of my favorites of the whole series, was this one by Joshua Littman and his mother Sarah.

I LOVED the idea behind Story Corps and have been inspired to do my own, with my own family if I can. That would make an AMAZING mother's day present.
(For next year)
(without the cool animations)

Anyways it got me to thinking of different memories I have of my mom growing up.....
Looking back at the "ripe old age" of 21, I wish I could have appreciated my mother a little more growing up, I wish I hadn't been so stubborn/rebellious, I wish I would have pitched in more...

Having my own house and living things to take care of, I suddenly realize what a big job having SIX children was, not only that, but caring for the house, and homeschooling all.of.us.

And honestly homeschooling with her was a lot of fun, we watched Tadpoles grow into frogs (and then die from the worms that were in the dirt we placed with them) on our kitchen counter....

We captured at least one Praying Mantis a summer, to feed and care for. We even had a fish or two..(who also promptly died.)

I can remember one time, when I was 8 or 9, she woke us up excitedly one more, telling us to hurry and get dressed, as there was a surprise waiting outside. At this age, the desire to have a dog was an all consuming thing, and since she didn't give us any other hints as to what the surprise was, all I could think of was we had gotten a new puppy!

I can remember being soo excited that my fondest wish had come true, and couldn't believe we had to eat BREAKFAST before we could go see what it was.

I can still feel the crushing disappointment I felt, when mom excitedly showed us the seeds we'd planted a couple of weeks before, were starting to poke through the dirt. It wasn't until years later, that we told her why our enthusiasm didn't match hers.

The thing that impresses me most about my mother, is that she never complained about us kids. Never. At least not in my presence.

As a more mature teenager, adults seemed to forget my age when they started spouting off about their own kids. I heard so many parents complain and gripe about their kids, then follow it up with an "Oh but I love them"... yes I can tell by the way you are disrespecting them, and their privacy by airing their dirty laundry to the first willing ear.

I've seen other parents, be little or talk down to their children, or play the favorites card, or be downright hateful to their kids...in the name of parenting.

My mom (and Dad) never did that; sure they had rules and restrictions we were expected to follow, but they treated us with respect...even when we really didn't deserve it.

I appreciate that soo much now.

Happy Mother's Day Mom!!

My Aunt, Grandma, and Mom

My Mother

I can honestly say, that my mother is one of the most inspiring women I have met in my life. Now that I'm older and have more responsibilities, I can fully appreciate the time she put into homeschooling us, making us take piano lessons, evolving us in 4-H, keeping us evolved in church, encouraging me to start raising puppies, not too mention all the time spent driving us hither thither and yon.

She's stayed up late nights helping us finish projects, for state fairs, pushed us to do competitions. While all this is good, the biggest thing that impresses is me is how she's never complained about doing any of this. Never. I sometimes cringe when I hear other mothers ranting too their children about how they are doing this and that etc.. Just makes me realized how blessed I am.

I have a Totally Awesome Mom