Curls and Mother's Day

So here's my little princess all ringlets and pinks.  This was taken before I got her ringlets all twirled right so that they were all going the same direction, but you get the idea.  She thought it was beautiful.

Mother's Day is always a day that reminds me how blessed I am.  I've had a life filled with strong, wonderful women and now have beautiful children of my own.

I am grateful for my own mother.  Whatever her faults as a mother or a person, I think I can safely say that none of her children has ever truly doubted that they were deeply loved and cherished by her, or felt that they weren't a top priority in her life.  She is so energetic and hard-working, which I so admire.  As a mother, I appreciate now more than I ever did before her patience for and devotion to her children.   I am grateful that I inherited her goofy sense of fun, her love of children and her down-to-earth attitude.  Many of the things I love most about myself are a direct result or a reflection of the mother that she has been to me, and I can't ever thank her enough for that.  And when her children grew up and didn't need as much mothering, she transitioned wonderfully into one of the world's greatest grandmas.  She loved me enough to have expectations.  She loved me enough to let me bear the consequences of my own actions.  She loved me enough to say, "No" sometimes, but to always say "yes" if she possibly could.  She gave me both boundaries and options--a difficult balance to reach as a parent.

I'm grateful for a wonderful mother-in-law, who loved me almost instantly (despite only meeting me a few weeks before my wedding) and has always treated me as one of her own (actually, "her own" would say she's always treated me better than them;)  ).   She has been a wonderful support to my husband and I throughout our marriage and been a great grandma to our kids.  It sometimes seems to me that she's been asked to endure more than her fair share of trials in life, but has always amazed me with her devotion to the Lord.  She has been a tremendous example to me of righteous perseverance even--no, especially--in the face of adversity.  I consider her not only family, but one of my friends and love having the opportunity to just sit and chat with her sometimes.  She's a great person.

And who doesn't know what love and respect I have for my grandmothers?  Grandma Gilbert was one of my closest friends, and I miss her terribly.  She was so much fun with her continual hunt for a great bargain in life, always with a pocket full of candy at the ready.  She was an adventurous spirit when I knew her, always up for a trip or a new experience.  A wonderfully service-oriented woman, she was always taking care of someone--whether it was one of  her numerous grandchildren, or the 90-year-old neighbor that she called "Grandma".  At the family viewing the week she passed, I think the officiating bishopric member put it best:  "I'm sure as soon as she got up there, she walked right up to the Lord and said, 'Alright, I'm here, put me to work!'".  Even in her old age she was rarely idle if she could help it, even if all she was keeping herself busy with was watering her petunias and checking in on her grandkids.  She loved people, and I will forever be grateful of the incredible example and driving force that she was for me in my youth.  As a child and adolescent, I lived with a constant, nagging paranoia that sooner or later, everyone in my life would get sick of me and not want me around anymore.  But not with Grandma. I always felt completely and utterly safe and confident in her presence.   Unbeknownst to many besides she and I, she was often the one who gave me the confidence I needed to succeed in life--whether it was at school, in sports, as a young mother.  She always believed in me, so I did, too.

And I must give a few words of praise to my Grandma Umphrey, as well.  I didn't have the opportunity to spend as much time with her as my older brothers and sisters did, but the time I spent with her certainly has left its mark on me.  Some of my earliest musical memories are of her singing hymns when I'd visit her house, or playing the fiddle with Grandpa Vic.  I have always had a special love for violin music, largely because of her talent.  I say a silent prayer of thanks for her every time I make popcorn balls with my kids because it reminds me of a grandmother who did her best to spoil her grandkids with the little she had.  What I love most about my Grandma Elda, though, is something I didn't entirely appreciate until I grew up.  She has made a lot of mistakes in life, non of which she denies.  Her personal flaws are the stuff of family legend (or at least my dad's silly jokes).  But she has a faith that is simple and pure.  No matter how many times she slips, she stands up, dusts herself off and pushes ahead.  And just in my short life, I have seen many of the results of that, of the personal progress she has made and I admire it so much.  My sweetest memory of her is from just a little over a week after my 19th birthday.  I went to the temple to receive my Endowment, she stood at my side and served as my escort, and her presence in the Celestial room at that moment was every bit as important to me as was my fiance's.  The beauty of that memory will never fade, and my gratitude for that act of service is inexpressible, so I will do you all a favor and not try.

And, lastly, I am supernally grateful to be a mother myself.  When my children are sad or hurt, and I can make them feel better with a hug and kiss or a lullaby in my arms, there is something about that magic of mothering that is healing to me as well as them.  My greatest blessing is my marriage, and they are the crowning jewels of that blessing.  I love to hear them laugh--especially with each other.  I love watching them kneel down next to each for our nightly family prayers in their little zippered pajamas and their strawberry blonde mop tops--there is hardly a more precious sight in the world.  Motherhood is always demanding, often exhausting and occasionally exasperating, but I can't think of anything more rewarding, more filled with smiles and giggles and genuine joy.  I am grateful for the blessing of being a mother.