It's my mom's birthday today!!! She's a very special lady, and is going to hate this post, because she's not one to take credit for how awesome she is. I don't think I've ever heard my mom utter a selfish word, and when I look back on my childhood, it amazes me to see how much she did for my brother and me. When I was a kid, she would take me everywhere I wanted to go, which was a lot of places! When I finally got my drivers' license, she would bend and twist her schedule in crazy ways so I could use the car.
There was never a night there wasn't dinner on the table, or a morning she wouldn't take time out of her day to sit across the kitchen table and talk over a cup of coffee. We always had clean clothes in our dresser drawers, and my friends were always welcome to come over to the house, even if it was a spur of the moment idea. She volunteered as "Room Mom" when no one else's mom wanted to, and picked up tree branches that fell all over the yard after every single thunderstorm. "You can't just leave them there," she taught me.
My mom made my lunch for me to take to school. Every. Single. Day. Until I graduated high school and went away to college and had to find my own lunch. I knew I was ready for school early if I came downstairs and she was still standing over the counter next to the stove, making peanut butter and jelly. She even put up with me when I decided that I didn't like peanut butter and jelly anymore (a phase that lasted for years, I think) and insisted on lunch meat on a roll, not bread. My mom played badminton, baseball, and all sorts of other games in the backyard with us. She showed up at every sports game. She had hot chocolate when we came inside after sledding and always let me use the puppy mug that I loved.
I love you mommy!!! Thanks for teaching us to be servant-hearted, and for giving so much of your life to take care of us. We appreciate you more than you could ever know! Happy birthday!!! :)
