You Inspire Me - Week 1

Sunday is a good day for inspiration.  It's a day to reflect on the past week and to prepare for the days ahead.  With that in mind, I've decided Sunday is an excellent day to write about a person that inspires me.

I got this idea from Lula Lola's post last week about the person she most admires.  What an excellent idea!  So with that in mind, I thought my first post should be about a very special woman - my mother.

This is why she inspires me.

She is very patient and forgiving.   I wasn't exactly the sweetest of girls growing up.  I was a typical snot, if you will.  I talked back, rolled my eyes, disobeyed and disrespected.  I'm not sure I could have dealt with me as gently as she did.  Yet, she has always been forgiving of my flaws and was patient enough to know I would eventually grow out of it.   I'm so thankful she did and so grateful for the relationship we have today.   

She has a very GREEN THUMB. My mother has plants throughout her house and grows the most beautiful flower beds each summer.  I'm convinced her garden grows if she simply looks at it.   A few years ago, I noticed the most gorgeous plant, in full bloom in her living room.  She told me the plant was a gift she received when one of my sisters was in 9th grade.  My sister is now 43 years old!  A-maz-ing! 

She is very accepting.   When I married Cedric, she not only welcomed a man with obvious differences and what some would label as baggage, she fully accepted everything about him, including his child.  Keelan officially took over the reigns as her oldest grandchild when he was 8-years old.  There is no such term as a 'step' child or 'step grandchild'.  She treats him no differently and fully embraces him with the same love as her ten other grandchildren.  I continue to be so honored by this act of love.

She is selfless and humble.   We recently took a trip to a local museum, when a bright-eyed little girl suddenly came running up to my mother to give her huge hug.  I had no idea who the girl was but I could tell she meant a lot to mother by the tears that welled up in her eyes.  She later went on to tell me that she was one of the girls she spent some time with the past school year while volunteering at a grade school, reading to children with special needs.  I had no idea she did this.

She goes out of her way for people.  Making others happy is what make my mother happy.  When we visit, she will make me a special meal because I'm selective in my food choices.  She will whip up a batch of chocolate chip muffins in an instant if my boys ask for them.  When she visits us, she will clean for us...because she wants to! She never forgets a single birthday or anniversary for anyone and always sends a card that arrives EARLY.   She prays a lot for others and never asks for anything in return.

She kept everything from my childhood.  On our recent visit home to visit my parents, she brought an old box and asked if there was anything I wanted to take with me.  Inside the box was project after project that I completed throughout my years in school.  She kept everything from parent-teacher notes to programs from my piano recitals.  There were school pictures that I'd rather forget were taken and papers I don't even remember writing.  But there it was, a collective memory saved just for me.  It inspired me to be better at doing this for my kids.

She's very active.  I guess maybe that is where I got my active gene, but my mother has more energy than a room full of toddlers.  She's 69-years old and will still make snowmen in the winter and take trips to the park with her grandchildren in the summer.   She walks daily to stay active and fit and has more friends than I could ever imagine to have.  I know if I haven't heard from her in a few days, she and my dad are traveling somewhere or spending time having dinner with friends.  She still shovels snows, scrubs the floor without a mop, and can sew just about anything she sets has in mind.   With any down time left, she will challenge my dad to a bowling game that they play together on their Wii, which is simply hysterical to watch. 

She always see the goodness in everyone.  I cannot recall EVER hearing my mother say a bad thing about anyone.  If a person is flawed, she'll find some goodness and will seek the best in anyone.  Imagine if we could all have a little of this trait!

She reads my blog!   I know this would scare a lot of people, but I have nothing bad to say about her.  So if you're reading...I love you Mom!