Every Day

From the moment she finds out she's pregnant. 

From the moment she holds her brand new baby in her arms.

To the high school graduation and the beginning of college.

And the day where she watches her child devote their life and love to someone new.

A mother's love is endless.

I have so much love and admiration for my mother. She dealt with a LOT from me. I was (and still am) stubborn, too smart for my own good, and extremely mischievous. Just some examples of what my mom dealt with while I was growing up.

1. Around the time I was 14-18 months old, I learned how to work the TV remote, I could sit and pay attention to a whole length movie, and I figured out how to open up the child safety locks on the cupboards.
2. I used to stand on one of the pedals of my mom's old exercise bike, hold onto the handle, and go up and down in circles, constantly in danger of tipping the bike over on myself.
3. I was mean to my older sister, and would chase her around the house. 
4. We had an old A-frame swing set in the backyard, and I climbed up the side and did the "balance walk" across the top bar. 
5. Instead of actually practicing for my piano lesson, I would go upstairs to the electric keyboard and record my song once, then hit the replay button over and over again so that I didn't have to practice.
6. I resisted having my hair done nicely and wearing "cute girl" clothes to school.
7. My little brother was always perfectly behaved whenever my mom had to take him with her to run errands... until she picked me up from kindergarten. Then we were little terrors.
8. Whenever my mom told me to pick just two books to bring with me in the car, I came out with arms full of books. Then I whined and complained when we got home and I had to put them back.

Lets just say, I was a handful as a kid.

Almost every day I run into something that reminds me how grateful I am for my mom and what she taught me. A few instances are:

1. I'm grateful my mom taught me how to clean a bathroom. Derek's and my first Saturday here in Rexburg I cleaned our bathroom. I knew that it was old, and had been used by multiple couples before us so, without expectations of getting anything shiny clean, I went to work just to make sure I knew it was sanitary. But when I was done, it was a different bathroom! Yeah, lets just say I'm very grateful my mom taught me how to clean a bathroom.
2. I'm grateful my mom taught me how to pick up after myself. I had the messiest bedroom out of all of my siblings growing up. However, my mom consistently reminded me that I needed to clean it... and I listened sometimes. (Remember, I was a stubborn piece of work.) But now that I'm in college, and married, I know the importance of keeping it clean and I have good habits now. Thanks mom.
3. I'm grateful that my mom showed me how to be a loving wife. I watched almost every day as my dad came home from work how my mom would stop what she was doing and meet him at the door with a hug and a kiss. I know that I am grateful to have seen that loving example, and I'm sure Derek is too. 

Today is an extra special day for all of us to be thinking about our moms and all that they do for us. But for me, I am grateful every day for what my mom has taught me and done for me. I love her.

Thanks mom.