52 Weeks of Gratitude Challenge: #4 A family member I am grateful for

Ok…I have to admit, when I first looked at this week’s challenge I was slightly disappointed. Just last week I wrote about how and why I am grateful for my family, and now this week I was supposed to pick just one family member? It seemed a bit redundant to me, but then I realized there is someone in my family who deserves a little more attention and gratitude than she ever gets from any of us ungrateful poops. It’s not surprising, really, that she doesn’t receive the recognition she should. That’s the role of most moms. The lady behind the scenes, the one responsible for so much more than we ever give her credit for.

My mom has no idea how important she is to our family. From organizing holiday gatherings to delivering forgotten homework to her grandkids at school, this woman covers all the bases when it comes to her family. When I was young, I had no idea there were children whose moms were not nearly as involved as mine. As I grew, I became more observant, and I realized there was indeed another world out there where children much like myself went home to empty houses after school, no one to ask how their day went or prepare snacks selflessly so they could sit on their butts and watch re-runs of Eight Is Enough, The Brady Bunch, or Scooby Doo. My mom sacrificed so much to be there for my sister and I everyday, and it gave us the consistency of a routine that children crave. She showed us love and showered us in hugs and kisses to the point of embarrasment. She opened our home to friends, drove us to sleepovers, followed us on field trips, and did it all so unselfishly. For all of this, I am truly grateful.

I’m grateful for not only the childhood mom gave us, but the relationship we forged out as I grew into a young adult. My mom gave me space to find myself during the teen years, yet lured me back to my roots by waving a deck of Skip-Bo cards in front of my face asking, “Wanna play?” Whether we were playing Skip-Bo together or battling it out Dr. Mario style on my Nintendo NES, my mom used that time to reconnect with me on a regular basis. We maintained a bond during a time when so many teenagers can’t stand their parents, let alone want to hang out with them. She kept me grounded, and for that I am, once again, very grateful.

Later on in life, as I branched out into the world, I saw less of my mom on a regular basis, like most people do when they are trying to find their path in life. No matter how selfish and self-centered I became, my mom was always just a phone call away. When I got married she was right there beside me, making sure I had the wedding day of my dreams. When I had my children, she would stop anything she was doing if I felt overwhelmed and needed a mom-hug just to get through the day. Years later when my marriage fell apart, my mom sat with me while I cried, assuring me that everything would be ok, even though we both knew my life and my children’s lives were about to change drastically. And when our lives did change drastically, she was there standing on the sidelines cheering us on every step of the way. For all of this, I am forever grateful.

I am grateful to call my mom a friend. She is one of my biggest supporters, she’s my cheerleader, and confidant. She knows better than anyone how to make me laugh, cringe, or cry…sometimes all in the same conversation. But most of all I am grateful for my mom because she is the role model for the kind of mother I want to be to my girls.