Showing posts with label single mom. Show all posts
Showing posts with label single mom. Show all posts
Friday, May 10, 2013
Monday, May 6, 2013
MOM is WOW Upside Down :)
Today is a guest post from a friend of mine, Erin. Her mom's story is one not so different from many moms today....single and doing it on her own. A tough job, but one you cannot walk away from. One that if you stick with it, will reap wonderful rewards as you watch your hard work, years of tears...and joy....be worth it all.
My mom raised my two younger sisters and I, all by herself. She taught me to be tough. To agree to disagree. To work hard for what we wanted. She made us pull a bucket of weeds, every day, in the summer, before we could go swimming. We had daily chore lists to be accomplished. She homeschooled us, off and on. She taught me how to replace a toilet. She taught me how to drive. Because of her, I love to garden and feed birds. We always had pets – dogs, cats, guinea pigs, hamsters, bunnies, ducks and chickens. If we didn’t clean our rooms well, the toys we left out got taken away. We got spankings! We got grounded! I remember having to write sentences, and apology letters . . . and thank you letters. As soon as I started earning money, she required a ‘room and board’ monthly payment. She taught me how to cook. She raised my sisters and I to be responsible, and respectful.
The biggest things that have always been a part of our lives, as mother - daughters, was humor, fun, and spontaneity! Somehow, as a single mom with three, whiney little girls, and very little money, my mom still managed to provide for our needs, ....and teach us to enjoy life.
We had fun. My mom would take us camping, for weeks in a row, every summer. In a tent. With a rat terrier dog, and a hatchet under her pillow at night. We bathed in the river. We went to the beach. We drove down dirt roads, up the sides of mountains, to go exploring or picnicking! We hiked at Silver Falls. We swam in creeks. We slid down huge rock query piles! She let us play in the rain in our swim suits! She spray painted poison oak, so we wouldn’t accidentally walk through it. We jumped in puddles in parking lots. We sang in the car. Twice during my childhood I remember seeing my mom run – once, to rescue my three year old sister who almost drowned at Siletz Bay. The other time, was to jump in the Brightenbush River to save a Frisbee.
Through the years my mom has been mommy, discipliner, friend, confidant, mom and dad, teacher, enemy, boss, . . . yet always Mom. Always Wow. I don’t think I could ever do what she has done. She’s raised three girls. She’s experienced love, life, loss, sickness, health, pain, hurt, laughter . . . and she’s lived. And she taught her daughters how to live. She raised me. She taught me how to be responsible, respectful, and have fun and enjoy life!
WOW, Mom! You amaze me! Thank you for teaching me how to live AND love life!
Happy Mother's Day, Mom!
I love you!
Erin Fern
My mom remarried when I was ten. She married a wonderful hard-working farmer from North Dakota. As a young girl, it was a bit scary having a big man in the home. That masculine roughness was something very foreign to three young lives. We'd never experienced that before. My wonderful mom juggled the new act of wife, mom and go-between, as she helped us become accustomed to a "dad". There were good times and there were harder times. Yes, she made mistakes...and every mom out there yells a resounding "Amen"...what mother doesn't fall short and wished she'd done it different. But through it all, she was mom....and we all knew her love was unconditional and she would always be there for us. I had someone recently say no human could have "unconditional" love for someone else. I disagree....I have unconditional love for my four children. Because no matter what they do...they can disappoint, they can anger, they can deeply move me, but I will NEVER STOP LOVING them! (Another "Amen" ladies!) My mom is now in her latter years...she still carries that unconditional love in her heart for me and my siblings as our lives have taken very different routes.
My husband and I have raised four wonderful children. There have been adventures; rough times, good times - thick and thin times. Times when all you could do was laugh....times when only tears would bring comfort. Most lessons in my life have been deeply imprinted on my soul through the years of mothering. Aside from my constant need for God and His wisdom, there have been several women through the years who have inspired me in my mothering. But one lady, who turns 85 this coming July, stands above the rest...
26 years ago, I stood watching my husband hold and sing to our first-born son and I was overwhelmed with love for the woman who “did it all alone” and the man “who was doing it with me”. That moment I believe, I loved my mom more than I ever had and more than words could ever express. She deserves more than I could ever give back to her!