Ode To Mom

Happy Mother's Day to all you moms out there! What would the world be without moms? No, seriously, think about it.....really, there would be no world. Moms are 24/7 workaholic domestic engineers....we truly are. As a mom myself, I'm starting to realize what my parents went through with us as kids. So, in honor of that, I have to say thank you to my own mom....

Mom, I don't know how you made it through without pulling all your hair out (wait, maybe that's the reason for all those migraines), for now I am starting to realize how much love and patience you had with us....and I haven't even made it to the teen years with mine yet. Whew! Now I'm beginning to realize how scary it is to raise kids....how I love them so much and don't want to see any harm come to them; how I sleep with one eye/ear open now, listening for their movements/cries/breathing. You are a beautiful person, Mom, inside and out. I don't know if you realize how much I truly love and appreciate you. You taught me so much, not only as a young girl, but now as a wife and mom with a family of my own. I may have argued with you a lot as a teenager and caused you much grief, and I may have snuffed off a lot of your advice back then, but I am starting to get to that place in my life where I'm realizing how much value there is in your words of advice, encouragement, etc.Mom, you taught me that in order to get anywhere in life, I had to work for it. You taught me not only how to do basic life things, such as cooking, canning, how to grow a killer garden, cleaning (like a pro, I might add:)), laundry, how to make the best Strawberry Shortcake birthday cakes, etc., but you taught me what love is; you taught me to stand up for my convictions, for what I believe in; you taught me the value of a dollar; you taught me that as a woman, I could go anywhere, do anything in my life, as long as God was the center of it; you taught me true compassion, especially on those days when I'd come home sick from school, and you'd stay up all night with me, thermometer and can of Sprite in hand; you taught me how to be a Delaney/Atkins woman, how to feel beautiful in my own skin.... Those days we spent on the tractor or in the fields, even when it was freezing out and snowing up a storm....you taught me perseverance and responsibility. Taking care of grandparents, you taught me true sacrifice. You taught me that fun and happiness could be found in so many things in life....all I had to do was look for it.There are so many things I could go on listing, but I just want to say thank you....I just want to tell you that I love you!

Happy Mother's Day, Mom!