Since Mother’s Day is just a couple of days from now, I wanted to write a little salute to my mother. My mom has been a mom for over 50 years and during that time we’ve definitely had some great times. She also taught me some interesting things– some that I thought would never be useful, but have proven to be life changing.
For example:

She taught me to sit quietly in church, even if I didn’t want to listen. She used to give me a piece of paper and a pencil in church and tell me to write a story. Afterwards she told me to tell her my story, so I believe she helped to promote my love of storytelling. She also taught me that God was everything and everywhere–that He really cared about me and that He would listen when I prayed.

She forced me to slave away in the garden – learning silly things like weeding, deadheading, watering and planting. This coupled with the way to tie up greenbeans, hoe a straight row for planting and other gardening tidbits seemed useless, but over the years have come back to be beneficial knowledge.

My mother taught me to play the piano – she introduced me to music and gave me a real love of classical music. Later when I had another piano teacher, I often heard the teacher comment that I was one of her only students to enjoy Beethoven and Bach every bit as much as Boogey Woogey and Beatles.

The is my mom and her little sister – Darlene.

Below is my mom and with my sister Karen.

And, my mother gave me a strong love of family and the history of my ancestors. She used to tell me stories of her childhood and of her mother’s childhood. She gave me the experience of visiting my great grandmother’s farm and of greatly esteeming those who had given their lives for our country’s freedom.
So as Mother’s Day approaches, I wanted to say thank you to my mom for forcing me to learn such silly things. You have given me an appreciation for life that I might not otherwise have known. I love you dearly.