A Special Mother

In the fall of 1977, I left my mostly female dominated life and was welcomed into a male dominated one by another mother I would like to honor. She welcomed me with open arms into her household of three sons and lovingly shared her firstborn's heart with me. She taught me quickly that guys do things much differently than girls...especially if it has to do with noises and body parts.

My mother-in-law made me feel at home in this new world that was several hours away from where I had lived for the first 18 years of my life. She helped prepare me for the joys and trials of having three sons of my own...

She was a hard worker, but always took time to enjoy life and make sure her family was well taken care of in every way. She is retired now and still works as hard as ever keeping up her beautifully decorated home and taking care of her massive yard.

A few things that I love about her:

She nurtured and raised a sweet little boy that grew up to be my forever love...

She is not shy to burst into song at anytime...she harmonizes beautifully with my father-in-law and you never know when you might hear them lifting up their voices in an old hymn or a Merle Haggard song...

She has an entertaining way of perfectly imitating people...she has passed this gift along to her oldest son...much to my chagrin sometimes...

She enjoys laughing and "cutting up" and isn't afraid to act like a kid with the grandkids and great grandkids...

She makes the best potato salad and Italian crème cake anywhere...

She has a green thumb and can grow anything just about anywhere and make it look lush and flourishing...

She has stood strong in the face of many adversities in her lifetime and always gives credit to the Lord for her strength...

She has unselfishly put her family's needs in front of her own many, many times...

She understands what my mother's heart has been through and has given me support when I needed it...

One special memory I have is one Christmas eve when most of the family was at her house and everyone was making merry and having a good time...I was trying to pretend to have a good time, but circumstances in my life were making that hard to do...when I finally got about as close to the breaking point as I could without falling to pieces...she must have sensed something...she came and wrapped her arms around me...said she knew how I felt...and even if the others did not understand...she did...

That moment meant more to me than I'm sure she will ever know.

So for Mother's Day 2009, I want to say...

Thank you, Wilma!

You are one special lady and I love and appreciate you very much!