First off - yeah I know it has been a while again. On the plus side I now have a permanent job and things are starting to settle into place. Most of you know I am not a huge fan of Mother's day since my mom passed away in 2007. My son is just not the type to remember these things without prompting (that is what my mom used to do - she would take him out shopping for my mother's day gift). He did tell me "Happy Mother's Day" at midnight since I was still awake last night so that is something.
Today I would like to talk about how some kids only get the honor of having one mom, whereas I had the honor of having many mom's.
I had my mom, my Auntie Carylee, my Gramma, my Auntie Nano (whom I was named after), my Aunt Ginny, my Aunt Linda, my Aunt Judy, Charmaine, Vi, Alice, Melanie, Anita and probably some I am forgetting about somehow since I grew up in a time when everyone's mom could act as a mom in your mom's absence.
When I look back at all these strong women, it is no wonder I turned out to be a strong, independent woman. This is not to say that they never made mistakes - we are all human and learning is a never ending process - or that I never made mistakes. Lord knows I have made my fair share.
The point is I would not be the me that I am today without each and every one of these ladies having some lasting impact on me.
My mom taught me so much, the good, the bad and the ugly. Today is not a day to remember the bad or ugly so the good is that she taught me that irresponsibility is not always a bad thing. She taught me that you need to live each day to its fullest and spread love and joy wherever you go. She taught me that it is ok to embrace getting older and to have fun with it.
My Auntie Carylee taught me that crushes are ok and a great part of life. She took me to my first real concert for my 13th birthday. She instilled in me that you need to embrace yourself and be confident no matter what your size - that is how God made you and therefore you are perfect.
My Gramma taught me about responsibility. To save for a rainy day. To prepare for coming events. To hoard toilet paper and paper towels (that is a story for another day). She also taught me how to be a lady. She made sure I know how to act in any situation. She gave me ettiquette lessons in the summers when I wanted to be off playing. She showed me that patience pays out in the end.
My Auntie Nano gave me my love of traveling and story telling. I could (and did) listen to her tell me stories of her travels for hours and hours. She also taught me that it is ok to look at anything and make up a story about it -- not like rumors or hurtful things, but "hey, see that ship heading out to sea? Where do you think it is going and why?" Rainy days at her house were my favorite thing on earth because it meant sitting in the window watching the ships in the sound and telling stories of where they were going or coming from, or looking at all her post cards, or her trinkets and hearing the stories behind them.
My Aunt Ginny taught me to love the finer things in life. She was and still is very into the arts. She also taught me that while it is great to live the finer things in life it is also great to walk away from it all from time to time and just be with nature.
My Aunt Linda taught me to have comapssion for all. To always smile and be there for others.
My Aunt Judy taught me that redheads have the most fun of all -- and it is ok if you were born with a redheaded soul, but dark hair because there is hair dye!!
Charmaine taught me that every child deserves a home filled with love.
Vi taught me to never face the day without a little makeup on - it just makes you feel better if you get up, get dressed and put your face on.
Alice taught me that sometimes marriage is rough, but you stick with it, and work it out. It was not meant to be something that you just do once - you have to work at a marriage and fall in love over and over with the same person.
Melanie taught me to be consistent. To be faithful. To love unconditionally. She took me in when I really didn't have anywhere else to go as a teen. She showed me what consistancy is and feels like. She also reminded me (a lot) about how i couldn't hide things from her because she had already been there and done that and probably wrote the book about it I was learning from!! She also taught me that it is ok to be honest with your parents as they will love you no matter what.
Anita taught me that it is ok to forgive people for things you never thought were forgivable. She also taught me to actually talk to my dad about stuff from the past so that we could have a relationship that wasn't full of pain.
To all these women I say thank you - you made me into a very strong, independent woman who managed to raise an amazing son. He may not be perfect (again who is) but I know I raised him right and in the end he will pass that on to his children should he choose to have them in the future.
Until next time,
Peace and luv to all
Laura :)
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