#itwasmom

may 11. day 249.

mothers are the greatest miracles.

"Foi, é e sempre será: MAMÃE."

Who accepted a divine job offer from the Lord?

It was Mom.

Happy Mother's Day.

Inspired by this post about What Love Sometimes Looks Like, I thought I would write a tribute to my mother.

I truly have a unique and wonderful mother. She’s an actress, and growing up I would look at her headshots, and her in the bathroom putting on her makeup, and think, “I have a beautiful mommy! I hope I can look like her when I grow up!” We had posters of plays she’d been in around the house, and as a kid I didn’t appreciate how cool that was. Now I find it insanely awesome that my mother has been on stage so much - and still is! And she took such good care of herself in her younger days, that now people think she’s my sister. And when people say in disbelief, “She’s your mother?! How old is she?!” I just say, “Old enough.” :)

My mother made a lot of sacrifices for us kids growing up. I didn’t recognize until I got older how much she really disliked living in the suburbs during our formative years. But she knew that we were in great schools, had lots of friends, and were getting an excellent foundation of faith at church that we would have to draw on the rest of our lives. I sensed she wasn’t always happy when we were growing up, and since I’ve gotten older and recognized some of her struggles, I am eternally appreciative of what she gave up for her children.

When we lived in the suburbs, my mother would drive us to dance classes an hour and fifteen minutes away, because she wanted us to not only have dance, but to have the best dance. She would pick us up from school, and we’d drive to Annapolis every Wednesday during the school year. I don’t know how she did it! My sister and I would do our homework in the car, and entertain (or torment) our little brother in his carseat. And then after classes it would be another hour and fifteen minutes back to home. I am amazed that she did that for as long as she did.

My mother knows how to bake, and she has fun with it. She excels at baking her own bread (tomato sourdough is my favorite - excellent when made into grilled tuna sandwiches!), with the right amount of sesame seeds or rosemary on top. Our kitchen would smell delicious. She makes THE best oatmeal cookies, and snickerdoodles. I can only hope that my imitation of them is a fraction as good. There’s just something extra special about cookies that Mom bakes. And then the time when she discovered cookie cutters. Oh my word. My mother own the world’s largest private collection of cookie cutters. Even made a few on her own when she couldn’t purchase the kind she wanted! It’s a silly thing, but it really does brighten your day to have Mom make you a Ginger Bard (a gingersnap Shakespeare cookie), or a key lime Yoda cookie.

On roadtrips Mom would pull out cassette tapes she’d made of Old Time Radio, and thus we grew up listening to Jack Benny, Suspense, Fibber McGee and Molly, and laughing at jokes that we didn’t quite get because you had to live during 1947 to really get them. But we loved it. This and my mother’s love of old movies greatly influenced us kids. We talk in movie quotes to each other. We have a sophisticated sense of humor because we eventually did learn the background of those jokes from 1947. We could bond with our mother watching these films with her. Poor Dad sometimes got left out, but he’s a trooper nonetheless. And I can see my mom bring out a silly side of my dad that I didn’t always get to see, and that is something I am also so grateful for!

This woman made us Halloween costumes. She sewed badges on our Girl Scout sashes. She gave us Popsicles when we were sick (the orange ones make you better faster). She came to our orchestra and band concerts. She dug through trash when I accidentally threw away my binator (that’s a double retainer) on a field trip. When I had a medical problem junior year of high school, my mother stayed with me in the hospital, and when I came home she changed my dressings. She bought me my IKEA kitchen table when it was on sale because she was available to go, and I had to work. She has guided me through heartbreak, and lifted me up with her demonstrations of faith.