Mary Angel

(May, 2011) Mom, mother, mommy, mum, no matter how you say it she is still the one and only MOM! Mother's day is almost upon us and I find myself thinking of all of the mom's I know and how different each one is. When I think about my friends I rarely think, "Oh, this mom this", or "that mom that". I just think of them as my friends, or relatives, or both. Right now, however, it is a little different. I am thinking about what great mom's they are and that each one of them has something that makes her unique and wonderful as a mom. So this month I am going to tell you about these wonderful ladies and what I admire about each of them.

First will be my best friend for years. She tried for years to have biological children and went through many medical procedures to no avail. During this time she also taught preschool, did daycare, got her degree in social services, and became a foster parent. After all those years of trying she adopted one of her foster kids (and a year later another). She fostered two children that had been abused repeatedly and then adopted them. And although it was a bumpy road, she stuck it out with all the love, patience, and discipline that a biological mom would have. She was truly amazing, she was their mom.

My next friend is a straight shooter. If you want someone to be honest with you, she is the one to go to. The other day she was telling me a story about how her daughter's friends think she is mean because she is a strict parent. The funny thing is, this is what I admire about her. That she is strict and straight forward. Her daughters excel in school and each play two instruments and never go a day without knowing their mom is going to kiss them at least 5 times a day. Sometimes her kids get upset because they don't want to study or practice their instrument, but she never backs down. And when I stop by and they ask me to listen to the song they have learned, they absolutely beam because they do it so well. Or when they see their "A" at the top of a paper they are so very proud. When it comes to problems at school she is right in there telling the teachers how it is. She does not take any excuses from them or her girls, nor does she back down in any way. Some of my other friends (myself included) tend to let things slide a little too much. I would love to have a little bit of her spunk to get me going when the going gets tough.

One of my renewed friendships is with a mom who recently went on her second missions trip to the Dominican Republic. This is a mom who had a fast paced business career and gave it up to start her own business. Not because she didn't like her job, but because she wanted more time with her family. She has jetted off to another country to show orphans the love of a mom and changed careers for the love of her family. When it comes to this mom I wish I had half her courage and half her gumption.

Still another friend is constantly having kids over for these amazing sleepovers. My daughter and hers are best friends and let me just say that there are times when I am afraid to pick her up that she might tell me she is not going with me. There is "breakfast" for dinner, games, the playground in the backyard. Next there is a bubble bath followed by their own personal spa, and finally bedtime in the guest room with a movie to fall asleep to. On top of all of that she manages to keep her house looking like something out of a magazine. So just to recap, she is the "fun" mom and the neat and organized one too. I can't even begin to tell you what I admire here because I can't fathom being either one.

The next mom I want to tell you about we girls like to refer to as "the Martha Stewart" of our group. She is the one whose house is decorated beautifully and by her own creative hand. But it doesn't stop there, you should see the costumes she comes up with for Halloween. No matter what her kids want to be she is up for the challenge. Whether it be WALL*E, Padme', or a last minute dragon, it is going to look like it came from an expensive costume store. You can only imagine how school projects and plain old craft time goes...wow! Besides admiring how creative she is I also admire how soft spoken she is. She manages to keep her household running like a well oiled machine and all the while keeping her cool. This is something I admire but have little aspirations of obtaining,

The last mom I want to talk about is one who managed to raise two kids with very little money and a husband that often worked nights or far distances away. She took in a family member who didn't care for her (but grew to love her) because they needed a place to stay, made sure that no matter how little money there was that her children never went without or even realized that there was no money. This mom drops everything to drive four hours to baby sit for her daughter and son-in-law when their sitter falls through at the last minute (or hours). She works side jobs just to be able to spoil her grandchildren. And although she too is not perfect, in my eyes she sure comes close. Thanks Mom, I love you!!

So no mom is perfect, because every mom is human, but these ladies certainly have a lot of attributes to admire.

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