I have always wanted to be a parent. I have dreamed of what it would be like ever since I was a little girl playing with my dolls. I think it's mostly because I have incredible parents!
My mom is the most giving person I know. We even poke fun at her because she is so giving. For instance, if I tell her I like something of hers, she offers it to me. I can't tell you how many new pairs of earrings, shoes, or fill in the blank here that she has offered to me just because I complimented them! My mom has always let me tell her everything. She doesn't judge me for the things I say. Instead, she just listens. She then gives her motherly advice, followed by "but you do what you want to do". I appreciate that advice even more now that I am a mom. I love my mom. She has been a wonderful example to me. One of the first nights we had Elise home, I was awake with her in the wee hours of the morning. As I was rocking her, I broke down just thinking of how much I wanted my mom to be there to help me and tell me what to do at that moment. I pray that I can be the kind of mom that my mom has been. I hope that when Elise is 25 years old and has a baby of her own, she wants me to be there. I hope that we can share the same kind of relationship that my mom and I share. I hope that she wants to call me multiple times a day, like I call my mom!
My mom is the most giving person I know. We even poke fun at her because she is so giving. For instance, if I tell her I like something of hers, she offers it to me. I can't tell you how many new pairs of earrings, shoes, or fill in the blank here that she has offered to me just because I complimented them! My mom has always let me tell her everything. She doesn't judge me for the things I say. Instead, she just listens. She then gives her motherly advice, followed by "but you do what you want to do". I appreciate that advice even more now that I am a mom. I love my mom. She has been a wonderful example to me. One of the first nights we had Elise home, I was awake with her in the wee hours of the morning. As I was rocking her, I broke down just thinking of how much I wanted my mom to be there to help me and tell me what to do at that moment. I pray that I can be the kind of mom that my mom has been. I hope that when Elise is 25 years old and has a baby of her own, she wants me to be there. I hope that we can share the same kind of relationship that my mom and I share. I hope that she wants to call me multiple times a day, like I call my mom!
My dad is the best dad ever! He has always been there for us. I don't think he has ever missed one of my many, many ball games-or practices, for that matter. He has always been my #1 fan! He is the dad who is the first to volunteer to help with anything we were doing. He is a hard worker, but never put his work before his family. I know he would do anything for me! I remember telling Joseph long before we were thinking about having a baby, that I hoped we could have a little girl someday so that she could have the relationship with him that I share with my Daddy! I truly treasure our relationship!
I am so thankful for my parents and the way they raised me to be who I am today! I am thankful that they let me be who I am. I am thankful for the relationship they fostered between my brothers and me and the emphasis they put on our family. I am thankful that I saw what a loving marriage was supposed to look like. I am thankful that they let us know that they were not perfect and that it is okay to mess up as long as you are doing your best! I am thankful that they instilled in us the importance of their faith, but still let us ask questions and make it our own. I am thankful that they worked hard so that we could have what they believed was best for us. I am thankful for all the memories they made with us, like playing ball at middle valley park, surprise vacations, dad "throwing us into the river", or "squishing us" at night, Mom not letting us run to see what Santa brought us until the video camera was running and the Christmas tree lights had been plugged in, or her reading us a children's book before we went off to college. Most of all, I am thankul that they always let me know that they love me, "no matter what."
And now here I am- a Mommy! I truly feel like I am doing exactly what God made me to do. Thank You God for the example of my parents. May we be the kind of parents to Elise that show her that we love her, "no matter what!"
How am I supposed to post a comment with these tears filling my eyes, my glasses all fogged up and snot running onto my keyboard?!? I hope nobody that actually knows your mom and me will read this. They will think you've lost your feeble mind!
ReplyDeleteThank you for remembering the good stuff. I remember it too -- well, most of it! :-) And thank you for filtering out all of our mistakes. I love you no matter what. (Tell Elise and Joe hello for me, in that order!)