10 Things My Mother was Right About...

1. Mornings are bad, very very bad- Neither one of us can tolerate mornings, we are slow moving, silent creatures for atleast an hour upon waking. In fact, my mom's one of the few people I can stand to have around while I'm eating breakfast cause you can just see in her eyes that she's hurting as much as I am!

2. Pick your battles- this might be the best parenting advice she's every given me. Only fight the battles that are really important, let the rest go. Period.

3. There ain't nothin like a good pair of shoes to make a girl feel pretty- They always fit, and come in a variety of styles, patterns and colors. One of my great regrets in life is that we don't quite have the same shoes size- cause that lady's got some really GREAT shoes!

4. We all need to be mothered sometimes- I LOVE going to my mom's house because I can pretty much just put it in neutral and relax. I still remeber being at my grandma's house with my mom and having her say the same thing. We need our mommy, even when we're moms ourself.

5. Eat you veggies- My poptart addiction horrifies my mother, but thanks to her I also try to put something green on the table.

6. Rock your babies- I recently confinded in my mom that I knew I needed to teach Laney to go to sleep on her own but that I hated the idea of not rocking her at night- even though she was getting to be a wee bit too big. My mom reminded me that I could do both, and she said to rock my little girl as long as she would let me, because time goes by way to fast to give up something so precious.

7. Read to you kids- my mom read to me every day. She even read the entire Little House on the Praire series to me. I LOVE books and all the credit goes to her.

8. Sometimes you have to stand up for yourself- My mom is a patient, relaxed person- so you'd never guess that there is a little bit of temper behind her smile. One of the things that I most admire about my mom is the hint of steel underneath her even temper. She rarely gets fired up- but when she does, she means it. If my mom tells you you were in the wrong- chances are VERY GOOD you were. That woman has the strength of Sampson I tell you. I so admire that!

9. The best gift you can give you children is to love their father.

10. Grace- her grace as a mother, a wife, and a woman astound me. When Delaney had to go under anethesia to remove the quarter she swallowed, I called my mom and cried. To think what she has endured... I stand in awe. It is so true that you cannot fully understand your mother until you are one yourself. It is my constant prayer that I can be half the mother to my children that she has been to us. She is my best friend, I don't know anyone cooler. I want to grow up to be my mom.

And you wanna know the best part? The part that's better than all the band-aids, kisses, and phone calls? She has let me get to know her as Beth- this wonderful, adventurous, kind, strong, accomplished woman. As children we know our parents as just that, our parents. But in the last few years my mom has allowed me to know her as more than that. She had confided in me her troubles, her weaknesses and treated me as a equal, a friend. What a gift! I don't think every mother is able to do that for her children- but oh how I have needed that these last few years as a new mommy. To know that the mom,who I think of as perfect, isn't. To understand that my imperfections as a mother are ok- to have the hope that someday all my crazies won't mean that Laney and I can't have the same relationship that my mom and I have- what a relief- and again, what a gift!

Thank you mom- there are no words (and Lord knows, I'm a girl with a lot of words) to tell you how much you mean to me.