I Love My Mom!

"A mother is the truest friend we have, when trials heavy and sudden, fall upon us; when adversity takes the place of prosperity; when friends who rejoice with us in our sunshine desert us; when trouble thickens around us, still will she cling to us, and endeavor by her kind precepts and counsels to dissipate the clouds of darkness, and cause peace to return to our hearts." 
 --Washington Irving

Happy Mother's Day to all you wonderful women out there!  Today I decided to  take a stab at my domestic obligations.  My lackadaisical attitude toward my daily chores is in large part contributing to my overwhelmed sense of chaos lately.  So today I took a day for myself.  I cooked a meal that looked delicious and should last me through the week (dinner detailed in the next post).  I cleaned the kitchen.  I unloaded, loaded, unloaded and reloaded the dishwasher.  I washed all my clothes which I'm preparing to fold.  Then I will tackle my room which currently lays in disarray.   I think once I put all this in order, the rest of my duties and daily tasks will feel a lot more manageable.  Currently it seems like I have 1,000 things to do at all times so even when I get something done I have impending dread about the 999 things I'm not doing.  


Anyway, enough venting.  The whole point of my vent is to say moms are awesome.  I can't really speak for all moms but I KNOW my mom is awesome.  Here I am, a single woman in her 20s with a full time job (where the work environment is awesomely casual and relaxed) and little other obligations, certainly no dependents, not even a goldfish.  Whereas my mother had 4 rather high energy children (with opposite personalities, and opposite interests) who were 6 years apart (oh and did I mention- her 3rd and 4th children are TWINS!) to raise. Not only did she raise us to be the awesome individuals that we now are, but she also had a part-time job as a lawyer (which is certainly not nearly as casual and relaxed as what I'm use to) and a full-time job as a mom, where many of the domestic tasks fell on her (though my dad is quite helpful around the house, unfortunately I must admit her children were not nearly as helpful as we, and certainly I, should have been).  My mom always had a well balanced and healthy dinner prepared for us at dinner time.  Here I find it hard to cook for just me, she cooked for SIX and we rarely had leftovers so she was at it basically every night. If I was a mathematician, I would probably come to find that my mom spent a ridiculous amount of her life in the kitchen.  


And the aforementioned are just the things I didn't pay close enough attention to growing up to thank my mother for properly.  She also always was and will be my best friend.  My mother  (and father) is my voice of reason, even when I do not ask for advice her voice guides me.  She is my emotional support and someone I can always count on for the empathy (or if really serious sympathy is required, pity).  She is someone that can sternly tell me "just do it," when that's what I really need to hear.  She is the person who taught me you can get REALLY mad at someone and still love them dearly.  She is the one who taught me sometimes the only thing you need to hear or need to say is "I'm sorry."  She taught me not to be too hard on myself.  She has instilled in me the importance of getting an education, but also the importance of seeking your own education in the lessons of life-- and using that to shape your life.  My mother is the only person who cries when she reads my personal papers, or hears my personal stories, or recognizes my achievements-- which apart from everything else she does, lets me know how much she truly loves me.  My mom tells me she misses me 2 minutes after I leave her house.  I've always tried to explain to my mom that the love I feel for her is so strong, it's hard to believe there is a bond more powerful than the one I hold with her (though, she insists no love is a strong as the one for the person calling you "mom").  I wish I could be with my mom on Mother's Day, but I can't this year.  But this day (which is unfortunately only a day) is a nice reminder of how awesome my mom is, she is a rockin' woman! 

"Mother love is the fuel that enables a normal human being to do the impossible."

-- Marion C. Garretty