ON BEING A MOM

[Mom and I Christmas of '07]

My Mom is so many things. Things that I am sure all other daughters find true for their Mom's as well, but my Mom, in my eyes, truly enbodies each and every one of these traits. She is beautiful, kind, loving, strong, humble, oh, and just plain fabulous. Let me tell you a bit about this woman.

She raised my brother, sister and I pretty much on her own once she and my Dad were divorced. Her amazing strength at this time in our lives was truly awe inspiring. At the time I did not fully grasp all she was dealing with so I was unable to understand all she went through, and for this I am sad. I only hope and pray that I have told her enough over the past 10 years how much I truly appreciate everything she did for me, my sister and my brother.

Before the divorce, throughout the divorce, and after the divorce, we were always put first. She kept busy raising us, running us to and from school, sporting events, playdates, you know, all the usual things that kids days are littered with. But more importantly she was there to comfort us when we were sad, talk us through our many make-ups and break-ups with boyfriends, discipline us when needed, teach us right from wrong, clean, give kisses, and apply band-aids to our many wounds (of which I had the most), and tuck us in at night always telling us how very much we were loved.

She did all of this while holding down a full time job, which allowed us to stay in the house we knew and loved, stay in the private Catholic school we knew and loved, and most importantly allowed us to put food in our bellies. 7 days a week, 24 hours a day, she was responsible for the three of us. And I never once saw her lose her temper, yell, shout "I give up!", or curl up on the couch and just have a good cry. Amazing.

What a strong, independent woman my Mother is.

Once I was married, and thinking of starting a family, I found myself frequently looking back and remembering all of these things about my Mom. Remembering, and hoping that I could do what she did for my brother and sister and I. Raise us to be good, self- sufficient, well-rounded adults. It seemed like a pretty daunting task, but I was up for the challenge.

4 kids later, I think that I am doing a pretty good job. I do have my "moments" where I yell, cry, and want to give up, but in general I am confident I am on my way to raising for pretty fabulous children into 4 pretty fabulous adults.

Beyond all of this, I have learned so much from my Mom. I have learned that I am not always going to be perfect, that I am going to have my bad days, that things are not always going to go my way, and that the kids are going to do things that are going to dissapoint me from time to time. But this is all par for the course, part of raising kids, and these things that make good days turn to bad, these situations that don't always go our way, these things that the kids do that are disappointing, are all things that make us who we are. These are the things that make me a better Mom, and that shape and mold the kids into the responsible young adults I know that they will become.

Thank you Mom. Thank you for putting me first. Thank you for raising me, for loving me, for making me into the person I am today. But most importantly, thank you for playing such a huge part in making me into the Mom I am today. I only hope I am doing half as good of a job raising my four babies as you did raising your 3. As if I am, I can take comfort in the fact that they will do just fine in life.