Since having children, I have learned that birthday are not all about the person having the birthday. It is more of a celebration for the mom that her kids have stayed alive and made it through another year! It sounds crazy, I know. But I remember when Asher turned one, I said to myself, "I made it through one year, he made it through one year. I did it!" Now that he is going to turn two in just four months, I can't believe that I will have made it through two years!
With that being said, my 29th birthday is tomorrow and I want to give a little shoutout to my mom for helping me make through these 29 years.
I mean, I was born in freakin' Las Vegas. I can't believe either of us survived that. You went to school, graduated and became a nurse all in the first year of my life. You set the bar pretty high for what I might achieve in my children's first years of life.
We moved all around the country and world in the last 29 years. Here is where I have been with you leading the way:
Las Vegas, NV
Woodbridge, VA (4 years)
Kansas City, KS (1 year)
Berlin, Germany (4 years)
Seoul, South Korea (2 years)
Burke, VA (1 year)
Carlisle, PA (1 year)
Staten Island, NY (4 years)
Fairfax, VA
this is where we parted:
Columbia, SC (4 years)
Asheville, NC (7 years)
And you moved to Albany, GA six years ago.
I remember feeling like I wasn't going to make it everytime we moved, yet you taught the amazing lesson of "bloom where you are planted" and to keep looking forward to what we have wherever we live. I haven't forgotten those lessons and I remember the biggest one that you and I thought through together: Although we have never had a "permanent home" to come home to, we have one in heaven through Jesus Christ and nothing else will ever satisfy. We will always long for that home above all else.
Also, another moving lesson...you get a chance at starting over everytime you move. Also, I know I can live anywhere and get through just about anything. And, that if I needed to...we could sell our house and I could move all of our stuff in a 48-hour period. If I had to.
I remember distinctly the time in the seventh grade when one girl broke into my locker and destroyed pictures of mine (my favorite one of Shellie and me, with ridiculous glasses from the Olympics), threw away my books and just trashed my locker. She also was making life a living hell and I didn't want to go to school anymore. You let me cry to you, you hugged me and made me feel like I was worth something. I have never forgotten that and it set my mind straight about the fact that stupid people will always try to tear you down, but we can survive. And, if it doesn't get better...we were going to move in a few months and so I could at least get through a few hard months and just start over.
You sacrificed every minute of spare time that you had for four years to drive me, Erica Leonardini and Elaine L. to Long Island, NY five times a week for soccer practice, games, tournaments and camps. I doubt that I could give my own children this gift because of the price that I would have to pay personally. Thank you for giving to me so selflessly simply because I had a dream and you wanted to make it happen if you could.
Thank you for collecting 5,500 Snapple labels with me in high school from everyone that we knew so I could get a Snapple refrigerator that I would later abandon at your house.
You helped to pay for college even though you gave up every spare minute you had while I was in high school (see above paragraph) so that I could play college soccer, but soccer didn't really pay for college. Gulp.
You helped me to see I would get past my relationship with Ed and that God had better plans in store for me. And did he ever.
You have been a great mom and have helped me to become the mom that I am now by just being you. We have made it almost 29 years so far. You did it! Happy 29 years of being my mom! I love you!
(BTW: this post also made me realize that I don't have any decent pictures of you and me together. Let's try to make that happen this weekend.)
Also, dad--you did these things too. I just can totally relate to mom on my birthday this year. Love you!
How about you out there in blogland? What lessons did your mom teach you? Send up comments!
