1. She's fun & spontaneous! I can't even tell you how many times she took us & our friends toilet papering, or night swimming, or let us skip school to take us to Disneyland, or go on last minute road trips to Northern California. I remember taking advantage of her spontaneousness once when my siblings & I toilet papered our own house one night while she was gone, leaving a whipped cream note on the sidewalk framing one of our friends. When she got home she told us to "get the toilet paper and get in the car- we were going to get them back!" After "getting back" at our innocent friend, guilt ridden, we confessed. Then she confessed she knew the whole time (a brand new costco pack of t.p. doesn't get used up in one day). I'll always remember how cool it was of her not to get mad at us for wasting all that toilet paper and making a fun night out of it instead.
2. She has taught me how to be a hard worker. She waitressed through 3 pregnancies to put my dad through school. She started her own business. Now, she's super-real-estate-agent-woman. She's always being productive (like when she re-organized my garage). The only time she's not getting 3 things done at once is when she's asleep.
3. You can always count on her to womp up a great family vacation. I'll never forget all the fun memories we've made, all because my mom loves to travel! Our trips to Yosemite, San Francisco, Mexico, Philadelphia, New York, Europe, etc. were so fun because of her. She has sat on the phone ALL DAY to get a camp site, planned out numberless agendas, and will make sure we get hooked up with free hotel rooms if our plane can't take off. She gets so excited to be in a new place and it's contagious- it makes the experience so much more fun!
4. She's the most giving person I know. She's given me SO much. I watch her give to others all the time. She always talks about what she would do if she won the lottery, and it's pretty much a list of what she would do for her family and friends. One of the many things she gives freely of is her time (which is very valuable, let me tell you). She gives her time every Monday to watch Wendy while I'm at work (and even takes it a step further by driving all the way out to Tustin to have lunch with me so I can see Wendy).
5. She's brave. She's not afraid to do things that would terrify other people. She's the only mom I know that goes swimming in the ocean every time we go to the beach (last year the life guards had to swim out and save us from the rip tide). She's not afraid to stand up for what she believes in- I've seen her bear her testimony to a complete stranger (weirdo who wouldn't leave her alone & was trying to bible bash) in the Costco parking lot.
I could literally go on and on about my mom and it would not do her justice. I really hope I can live up to her standards and be the kind of mother she is with my own kids. Happy birthday mom.
Thanks for always being there for me. I love you mom.
12 comments:
Shazam that was great! I loved the last to pictures. Total tearjearker.
WOW! Ruthy's right what a tear jerker!
I loved it all...Thank you so much!
As a mom, you now know of all the guilt involved with motherhood.
You always feel like you're not doing enough, or your doing to much, you're to strict or not strict enough.
As a mother you are always 2nd guessing yourself. There are so many things I could of done better...Like believe Nathan, when he said he was sick and not wait until his appendix burst to take him serious.
But after reading a blog like that from your daughter it just melts your heart and helps you realize I didn't do such a bad job.
Thank you Heather...I love you too and I am so proud of you! You are such an amazing person and wonderful wife and mother! This blog is my favorite Birthday present! (And Ruthy's too!)
Wow. I'm with ruth. I got teary through the whole thing. That post pretty much hit Beth on the head! Amazing. Now I'm kinda feeling guilty I"m not all those things. I gotta try harder! Go Beth for being a great example to all of us!
Ok, that was seriously such a sweet post. I was tearing up too. Especially those pictures at the end! Wow. Your mom really is amazing. Good job capturing that from the daughter perspective. Happy late Birthday Beth!
heather! you are so lucky to have your mom! and she is SO LUCKY to have YOU!!!!!!!!!! :)
aww...that was so sweet! my mom took us toilet-papering all the time, too. those last 2 pictures are precious - they're the same angle and everything.
I joined the club, tears were flowin'. What a sweet tribute! GO BETH!!
how come I kind got choked up!
so I posted before I read everyone elses posts. I guess I am not alone and shouldnt feel so silly for crying too.
Yeah! We all loved your mom growing up! She was the 'cool' mom... the mom that didn't even look like a mom, more like a big sister (and she still does by the way). Thanks Beth for all of those drop off's and pick-up's from youth dances! Happy Birthday!
I cried too!
I love this! You are such a awesome Mom and you are so totally amazing yourself!
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