Today is a day where we celebrate the awesomeness that are mothers! All over the country mothers are showed with flowers, chocolates and countless gifts by their loved ones, but I run into a small problem every year. What do you get someone who is a saint? I usually figure something out, in fact this year I was able to paint a simple picture of a peacock, her favorite animal. But I always have the problem of feeling like what I do or make isn’t enough to show the amount of love and gratitude I have for my mother.

Let me tell you about my mother. She grew up in unusal circumstances, with her mother murder when she was very young and her father walking out of her life. So she and her brother were raised by her grandparents. We always like to joke that the mother’s side of the family, the Parkers, have a curse to die prematurely for odd reasons, because they seemed to drop like flies while she grew up. Her brother, my uncle Mark, died from medicine malpractice, her grandmother died from diabetes that she didn’t really take care of, and her father was shot by his new girlfriend on his birthday. I’ve never been so happy to not have a certain name!

So my Mom went through a lot of death during her childhood, she had to take care of her grandparents while growing up, and only really had one best friend in her life. After her grandmother died, her grandfather became bitter and would often take it out on my mom, but she continued to help him and care for him. When she first told me her story, I marveled at how happy she was and still is. She never complains about life or when things go wrong and she always had a smile on her face.

Her story doesn’t end there. She met my Dad, who was very bitter at the world, and they didn’t like each other very much. Then they started hanging out, then dating, then eventually my Dad asked her to marry him, to which she (eventually) said yes. When they went to her grandfather for his blessing, he didn’t approve. He forced her to choose him or my Dad, and I’m sure you can guess who she chose. She was ready to live her life. Unfortunately the rest of her family weren’t very happy with her decision, so they cut off communication with her, leaving her all alone.

Years later I came along, then my brothers, then my sister. All through my life I’ve only seen my mom cry three times that I can remember: when my Grandpa Fritz died, when she accidently stepped on one of our kittens (who survived), and when one of us (I can’t remember who) got her so frustrated and mad she started crying. I don’t know about you, but if I had to go through what she did I wouldn’t be as happy as she is.

She’s always serving us, making sure we have clothes, food, and toys, and she even spent a lot of time working while my dad went to school to help keep a roof over our heads. She taught us how to clean, cook and take care of the various pets we’ve had, then when we moved to a farm she learned with us how to build structures, care for a garden, and take care of a large property.

She also helped us emotionally, especially me. She was always there giving us support during our trials, cheered at our successes, and gave us a shoulder to cry on when things went terribly wrong. I’ve told her everything about my life, my thoughts, my feelings, and she gives me treasured advice. I would not be where I am today if it wasn’t for her, and not just because she gave me life.

I love her with every fiber of my being and I feel so sorry for those who complain about their mothers because of things mothers should do to their children or suffer because of their mothers neglect. I never had that problem. I had a mom who loved me and cared for me. She never belittled me for my thoughts or my mistakes. She always welcomes me home with open arms, no matter how long I’m away. I tell her I lover at the end of every conversation or when we part ways, even if it’s just a wall seperation us. I wish I could show her how much she means to me.

Thank you for listening to my rambling. I hope you all are having a wonderful day, and to all of the mothers out there: Happy Mothers Day!