Mother's Day

Did you know that Mothers day was started in the 1600’s when the early Christians celebrated the Mother’s festival on the forth Sunday of Lent- the forty-day period leading up to Easter. This was in honor of Mary, the mother of Jesus.  In England, a religious order extended the celebration to include all mothers and was called Mothers Sunday. It was also known as Refreshment Sunday as the fasting rules for Lent were relaxed that day. J  It didn’t become a national holiday until Anna Jarvis pressed the President until he caved. May 9, 1914 was the official first Mothers Day .

Now that a bit of my history lesson is over… I’d like to talk to you about my mother.

I’ll start off with this. If I can be HALF the mother to my children that my mother was to me, I will feel like I’ve succeeded in my goal as a mother to my children. At some point in everyone’s life, they feel like their mother put their childrens needs before their own. I feel like my mom did this in every aspect of my life. She was a single mom, raising 3 kids. We never had the biggest house, or the nicest car. But we always had a roof over our heads, and a car that got us to point A to point B safely. We always had food to eat, and new shoes and clothes for each school year. Christmas always meant a living room packed with the toys we wanted, and birthdays were filled with a lot of friends and family. My mom taught me about family sticking together when things got tough, and to appreciate all the little things in life. I am grateful for the things I receive and work hard for the things I buy. I do this because of lessons taught by my mother.

My mom wasn’t a perfect mother. I’m sure she felt a lot like I feel at times with my own children. She probably made a lot of mistakes, but those mistakes were perfect in the grand scheme of things. She gave me a realistic view on motherhood. I can’t be perfect, or expect to be perfect. I’m going to mess up raising my children… but they are going to survive it.  There was a time when I was a teenager that I “hated” my mom. She knew everything and I knew everything. We butted heads often. I hate to admit it, but if I had listened to my mom half of the time back then, I would have had a few less heart aches. I didn’t realize how much she really knew and how little I understood until I was married and having babies of my own.  Those years brought a lot of sadness, a lot of regret, and a lot of happiness, but I wish more than anything I would have told her how much I appreciated her for standing by me regardless of what decisions I made.

I hear a lot of people say, “I have the BEST mom!”. Well, guys, I’m sorry to disappoint you, but I have the best mom. She is the most perfect mama ever!