I love parents. The older I get the more I appreciate my friends parents... and my friends becoming parents. I love to look back on how we all grew up, and how many, many times they stopped us from making huge mistakes and helped guide us towards decisions that would enrich our lives.
But most of all, I adore my mom. I don't think there's a kinder, sweeter, more loving person on this earth. (okay, and now I'll get an email saying "Melanie! I'm not perfect." So there, she's not... but pretty darn great regardless!) There's not a single friend I've had who doesn't remind me fairly regularly about the great times they've had at our house -- largely thanks to my mother. Bagels and cream cheese in bed on a Saturday morning. Ice cream sundaes... with food coloring... that destroyed the kitchen. New Years Eve parties that, well, they never ended. Mom was our ride to school, our band mom extraordinaire (Blue Mama's -- just love you guys!!), confectionery supplier and fixer of all teenage woes.
My mom's a tough cookie. She's dealt with more in her life then I think any one person should have to deal with. With dad being in the military mom was often on "single parent" status. We were not easy children. She's seen both sons back and forth to war like ping pong balls, and I can't imagine the stress that brings to any mother. And mom left Pennsylvania for her childhood home of upstate New York and stayed by her cousin's bedside for months caring for her as she was taken by ovarian cancer. My mom loves so much. She's an amazing person.
In April 2007, about 3 months before Adam and I were getting married I called my mom's cell phone. My brother was on leave from his tour in Iraq and the entire family came in to see him from New York and Florida. I knew it was a mad house.
Instead of my mom I got my dad, which didn't seem so strange at the time given how busy I knew they were. My dad is a jokester. I almost never know what to expect and he thinks I'm way more gullible then I think I am. Dad and I chatted for a few minutes before I asked him where he was going. When he responded "the hospital" I naturally assumed he was trying to pull one over on me. It took a few minutes before I actually believed what he was telling me and pulled my car over to the side of the road before I started sobbing.
My mother was trying to move our family's pickup truck when she accidentally released the emergency break. As it began to roll backwards the door of the truck knocked her down and the vehicle rolled over her -- from her toes to the top of her head.
Her sister and mother witnessed the accident and immediately called for my brothers who called 911. They kept her as stable as possible -- she was certainly in shock -- until the emergency crews arrived to take her to the local hospital.
She had a punctured lung, filling with fluid, from the broken ribs she sustained but miraculously had no other broken bones. Her leg was what the doctors called "crushed" but not broken. All the veins and capillaries in her leg had been crushed but would slowly begin to grow back. The first 24 hours were the most serious and she was literally holding on to her life. I know she was in incredible pain; I can't even imagine. Her healing process will take a lifetime.
But my mother is so strong, so blessed. She slowly began to come around -- talking more clearly, walking little steps at a time. She went far too quickly and pushed herself too hard in the beginning... but that's just a daughter's opinion. (I'm gonna get another email...) Not only was I so proud of her, but she defied many prognoses. My mom's a fighter.
I think the most blessed day of my life was the day I married Adam. I don't know how I got so lucky to have this wonderful man in my life. He makes my heart so happy!
But I think I'll cry for the rest of my life at the memory of my mother walking down the aisle at my wedding. Without a walker. Without a cane. Just my strong, wonderful, awesome mother.
And don't even get me started on her dancing. I have proof...
Fast forward 2 years: My mom's traveled through Israel, Iceland and my personal favorite and probably the most dangerous, Los Angeles. She's taken care of my now 4 year old niece almost every day. She has a job taking care of 3 other girls and is thinking about taking on a second job. She travels to upstate New York about once a month to visit family and friends and do a little "light" work around the house... She goes apple picking, strawberry picking, walks the dog every night, gardens - a lot! and basically keeps a house of 4 girls, 3 boys, a dog, a cat and a bird running smoothly every day. You see now why my mom is so amazing.
This past weekend she did something she's never done before. And I really don't think I could be more proud of her! My mom completed her first ever 5K Teal Ribbon Walk for Ovarian Cancer in honor of her cousin, Linda Jacobie. She finished the event in 1 hour! And was not, as she feared she might be, the last person to cross the line. Amazing!Next year, we're putting together a team for the Breast Cancer walk -- so watch out for us!
I am super blessed not only to have this woman in my life but to call her my mother! I pray I'm even half as close to as brave and strong as she is as I get older.
So, so proud of you mom!
And so proud to be your daughter.
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