November 9, My Momma

-
My Momma and Me
You know how parents should put the needs of their children in front of their own? Well that's how my Momma lives her life.  Not only has she always made my sister and I her priority, but also my father, and my grandparents.  She literally takes care of herself after everyone else has been taken care of.

The other day she gave me a compliment without even realizing it.  She told me it made her heart happy to see me raising and loving Paisley in a very similar fashion to the way I was raised and loved.  For her to compare my parenting and nurturing style to hers made my heart happy, because you see, my momma is the most loving and giving person to ever walk the earth.

Today wasn't the easiest day for her.  Today she put my grandparents in a nursing home.  For years, she has been their sole caregiver.  She handled taking them to medical appointments, she assisted in getting my wheelchair bound grandmother in and out of bed, she took care of the groceries, of their hygiene, of their frantic calls at 2am when someone had fallen out of bed.  She took care of every detail, everyday, for years.  She was their chef, their chauffeur, their errand girl, their daughter, their everything. It got to the point she couldn't do it any longer, they needed her 24/7.

This evening as my grandparents are tucked away in their new home, my mom is caring for her little grandson.  I imagine she is either chasing him around her house or letting him splash up a storm in the bath tub.  Either way, she is loving on him and hopefully he is helping her keep her mind from thinking about her parents.

I wouldn't be the loving, compassionate, empathic mother and wife I am, if I hadn't had her as my role model.  For her house cleaning, porch sweeping, cookie baking skills she passed on, and the enormous amount of love she gives to those around her...I give thanks.

 Like this blog, leave a comment (or tell me what you are thankful for!)!  Feedback makes me happy! :)

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

All about the Little Boy

-
Image
Sometimes I forget this tiny boy isn't even 2 years old.  He shows more love and empathy towards people than those 10x his age.  He'll give a smile and wave to anyone who'll make eye contact with him.  He has a tender spot for the elderly and people in wheelchairs.  At the same time, this is the boy that asked to be put in his baby sisters crib, then peed on her sheets.  He's a tiny little pistol, full of mischief and curiosity, and 100% boy. As we near his 2nd birthday, I can't believe he's been around as long as he has.  I still stare at him in amazement and can't believe he is my baby.  Every day he is spouting new words and bringing up something we did days ago.  His memory is sharp as a tack and if he's heard you say something one time, you better believe that word or phrase is now a part of his vocabulary. He has handled moving to the farm like a pro.  He's always liked coming out here and seeing the barn, tractor, and riding the 4-wheele
Read more

The First of a Few Hard Weeks

-
Image
My father wasn't released the following day as I had hoped. He wasn't released the day after that either. We ended up keeping my mother from Saturday to Saturday. At first I had taken a couple days off work to stay with her. I was concerned what would happen if I left her alone. By the third day, I had to return to my job. I covered the house in notes saying "Don't Leave, Dad is coming to get you." I taped "Stay Here" notes on the doors and put granola bars out on the counter in the event she became hungry. We relocated some of our security cameras inside the house so I could view her while I was at work 4 minutes away. I had learned over the weekend that something as simple as making a peanut butter sandwich was more than she could process. As I greeted her and told her I was there to make her lunch, she told me she was starving and hadn't eaten all day. I knew she had but must have forgotten, because I had fed her breakfast that mornin
Read more

Simple Mistakes or Something More

-
Image
There's so many little moments I look back on now and wonder if it was the disease. Years ago my husband started commenting on how bad my mom was at making coffee. I just added more creamer and drank it down, not giving the stale tasting coffee a second thought. She had been making me coffee for years, maybe her pot just needed to be de-calcified or maybe she was cutting back on the amount of beans used? Eventually, it just became easier for me to always take her a Starbucks than have her brew us a pot. There was a strawberry pie incident that left the first (and only) bite of pie sizzling on our tongues. She had been making this pie my entire life, but surely it was a simple ingredient mistake, nothing that I should to be alarmed about. As my grandparents aged and required moving from the town of Santa Claus to the same town as my mother, she became the caregiver for their daily needs. Besides working at the library, she was now taking my grandparents to every doctors ap
Read more