February 25, 1932 my mom was born in Lincoln, IL. All of my growing up years my brother and I teased her about how old she was. That she was really born in Postville, because Lincoln wasn't around yet. That she really helped Betsy Ross sow the first flag. The truth is she isn't, even at 80, she is not old...in fact she is timeless.
Like many women of her era and maybe even some today, my mom was a jack of all trades as she stayed at home to raise 3 kids. She was a cook, nurse, care taker, chauffeur, seamstress, maid, waitress, teacher and arbitrator. Sometimes she was judge and jury. She took care of us kids when we were sick and took care of our animals when we were too sick or maybe even too lazy to take care of them. I was raised on a small farm so not only did we have the traditional pets of cats and dogs, but we also had pigs and calves that had to be tended to as well.
People would ask if she worked and she would modestly say no she just stayed at home. But staying at home meant that she probably worked harder than most did outside of the home. Not only did she do all the above things, but there was always laundry to be done, meals to be cooked, cleaning up after meals and she also mowed the grass and worked in the garden as well. I guess you could also throw in accountant or at least bookkeeper since she was also the one who paid all the bills, too.
I wonder what the value of a mom like that would be? If you tallied up the pay for each of those careers mentioned above, I'm sure the pay would be well over $2 million dollars a year. What ever that amount would be still would not be enough. The value of a mom who would do all of that and more is absolutely priceless.
Even after doing all of these tasks, chores and acts of love, after being a stay at home mom, she still had the time to go with us on school field trips. Whenever there was a need at school for a chaperon, there she was first to volunteer. After all, she is just a stay at home mom.
I can remember many times as a kid when I had to stay home from school because I was sick. that could have been with an ear ache, sore throat, stomach flu or any other ailments that hit kids or at least this kid. My mom would always be there for me to nurse me back to health. She would make dry toast and tea or chicken noodle soup or keep a constant supply of tissues or Pepto Bismol available for whatever was ailing me. Many of you know that when I was a senior in high school, I was in a very severe accident that nearly made me lose my right leg. My dad stayed with me in the hospital the first 10 days I was there; never leaving my bedside. But it was my mom who would drive to the hospital every morning. That was a 45 minute trip on a clear day, but this was in the fall and winter so who knows how bad the roads were. Every evening she would have to leave the hospital early enough to be able to get home to do chores. That would be to feed and water the pigs and the calves plus the ones my mom called the wild animals, the cats and dogs. It pained her to a.)have to see me in the hospital, b.) have to leave me behind in the hospital and c.) go home to take care of all of those family chores. But she never complained.
She never complained about anything. It was as if she was a gift from God to us. It was as if the gift from God to her was the privilege it was to have the opportunity to do all of that. She spent all of her time taking care. Taking care of 3 kids as were growing up. Taking care of my ailing dad the last 2 years of his life. Now it's her turn to take care of herself. she spent all of my growing up years as Wonder Woman. As she has aged she has now become the Bionic Woman due to her new hips and knees and now with stainless steel rods in her back.
Well I said all of this as a tribute to her. I guess it's really about time that she had some recognition given to her for all the wonderful things she has been and done for us kids. Now it's time to say a BIG THANK YOU to her. I guess the best way, the only way that she would want me to really do that is by saying. I LOVE YOU. MOM. Happy 80th Birthday to you.
