What's on your "Mom" list?

Last week, I'm sure many of you had a list of reasons to wish your mother the happiest of Mother's Days and to thank her for all she has done. 

So did I.  

Here are a few of the things I'm most grateful for.  Thanks to my mother, I became:

  - a book lover

  - a lifelong reader

  - a writer

One of my earliest happy memories is of the day my mom took me to get my first library card.  And I do mean took me to get that card, because she couldn't get it for me.  According to the rules of our tiny local branch library, I needed to be able to print my own name on the application. 

Even at five years old, I knew just how much getting my very own library card would mean to me.  I practiced my printing every day, because I so wanted that small, yellow, rectangular piece of cardboard with my name on it.

And I aced the test, first time around!

Getting that library card eventually led me to become a student volunteer in the elementary school library.  Much later, it led me to selling a book—well, actually, two books—to Harlequin American Romance.  And not long after they were published, I found both of them on the shelves of my local library.  Can't you just imagine what a thrill that was!

I wish my mom had still been with us to know I'd gotten "the call."

A big thanks, Mom, for everything...

And a big thanks to you, Readers, for stopping by the blog.

Want to share something special your mother has done for you?

All my best to you,

Barbara

~~~~~~

Barbara White Daille

http://www.barbarawhitedaille.com

http://www.facebook.com/barbarawhitedaille
https://twitter.com/BarbaraWDaille

Are You An Oreo? by Megan

I am.

I have the pleasure of taking care of my mom while having children at home. My friend calls me part of the sandwich generation, wedged between different responsibilities. Now, if I'm going to be a sandwich, I'm going to be the sweet, creamy center of a cookie!

I'm already double-stuffed, lol, so an Oreo seems like a natural choice.

Raising my children is a responsibility of love. So is caring for my mom. She was in the hospital last month while I was on deadline and had bronchitis. After some antibiotics for me and my sinus/ear infections, and three heart stents for Mom, we are mending.

I prefer when everyone is well (DH had a 101.5 fever for three days during this time; now my children are coming down with ... something), but I'll take what comes. I feel extremely lucky to have my mom still with us. I'm incredibly blessed with two children and the man I love as my partner.

That same friend's children are grown and gone, and her parents are independent and live far away also. She has a different life than I, not a richer or poorer life, but different. Someday my mom will be gone and my children out on their own, and it will all come sooner than I'm ready for. In the meantime, I will enjoy the ups and downs and feel blessed for each fevered brow, straight A report card, and moment I spend with them.

Here's wishing you a happy day, no matter what stage of life you're in. If you must be "wedged" between two generations, remember, you're the sweet, creamy center.

[Just watch out for that giant cup of milk!]

Megan Kelly
megankellybooks.com

HEROES AND MOTHERS

This month we’re talking about heroes, and since Sunday is Mother’s Day my thoughts are drawn to my mother. She passed away in 2000. Sunday I will be a little sad, but I’ll remember all the things about her that made me laugh. Made me wiser and a better person.

One of the things I remember most was her courage in an era when men made all the decisions and controlled the money. My parents grew cotton, corn and raised cattle in rural Texas. My mother worked as hard as my dad, but her name wasn't on their checking account. She wanted her name on that account. My dad said no. He’d give her whatever she needed (This was in the sixties). That didn’t suit her. She said if she couldn’t write checks then she was getting a job and making her own money. My dad kind of laughed at that. But that’s exactly what she did. There was a lot of quiet around our house during that time.

One night my dad laid a piece of paper on the table with a checkbook. My mother’s name was on it. She stood up for what she wanted and got it. I admired her courage, and her dry wit always made me laugh. When we disagreed, she had a way of making me think. Usually by making up stuff(Guess I got that creative gene from her).

Here’s some of the made up stuff when she didn’t want me to do something (She never said no. She let me make the decision – kind of):
(When I wanted to buy red fingernail polish)
If you paint your fingernails red, it will make you look cheap. (How cheap could a twelve year old look? But it was effective)

If you color your hair, you’ll look like a hooker. (Geez. I was sixteen and just wanted to get my hair frosted.)

(When I started dating) Never date a guy to spite your mother. That’s just rude.

If you lie to your mother, you’ll tongue will turn green. (My brothers and I looked at our tongues in the mirror a lot.)

If you curse, you’ll get you mouth washed out with soap. (My dad said my oldest brother had a bar of soap named after him.)

My favorite—(Right before I was leaving for college this was her sage advice.) Now you’re going to meet a lot of guys, but before you even think about marriage, take a good look at the fellow’s face and ask yourself if you want to see that mug across the breakfast table for the rest of your life. (Of course I laughed, but I thought about it with every guy I thought was the one, which is what she wanted me to do.)

So here’s to mother’s everywhere who guide us through life with wisdom, humor and a little guilt thrown in for good measure.

So, yes, to me, my mother is a hero. How about you? Any thoughts about your mother?

www.lindawarren.net
Caitlyn’s Prize – July ‘09