From the time I was a little girl, all I ever wanted to be was a
mother. In college they didn’t have a degree in motherhood, so I choose the
closest thing I could find and graduated in Human Development and Family
Studies. When I was little, I thought my mom was the greatest thing in the
whole world. We rarely fought or disagreed. I wanted to be just like her when I
grew up. Luckily my dream came true and I am now a mother to five beautiful
children. Sometimes I am not sure why I thought motherhood would be so
glorious, but most of the time it is pretty wonderful.
My mom was the most amazing mother. She was always there for us. I
remember running in the door from school and yelling "hi mom" usually
to turn around and run back outside to play. I just had to hear her voice yell
"hi" back, it was so comforting, knowing she was there. One of my
earlier memories was a time when she took me to a daycare for a day. I remember
very vividly sitting on the deck of the home with my head and legs between the
spindles and crying for 6 hours straight because my mom had left me. When she
came to pick me up we were both so traumatized that I never went back. In
kindergarden my sister Amanda was born. I remember sitting on my teachers lap
crying because I wanted my mom and missed her while she was at the hospital.
Another time she came to my rescue, I was in 4th grade (yes I
know a little to old for this behavior, but nontheless it happened) I walked
into class the 1st day of school and heaven forbid I had a boy
teacher. I cried until my mom came to get me. That was my first and last day in
his class. Apparently I had some seperation issues. My mom was always there for
me, I could always count on her to rescue me when I was sad.
Mom always cheered for us in any activity we tried. Ballet,
soccer, track and field, basketball, golf, you name it, she let us try it. She
encouraged us to try new hobbies and sports to see what we enjoyed. I am sure
it was not always pretty to watch, but she was always encouraged us anyway. Amanda
once told her soccer coach how much she loved her new soccer
"costume", meaning uniform. One of the lessons my mom would always
reinforce was teaching me to be nice and learn to love everyone not matter
their life story. She would always say, "Liza, no matter what, If you are
nice to everyone, then no one can say anything bad about you, and you would
have lots of friends, And you know we all need friends." She was a great 2nd mom
to all of my friends growing up. Our house was quite often the gathering spot.
Mom would always have gummy bears and people magazine, and Davids favorite,
Cheetos. When my husband David called to ask me out on a date for the first
time, he left a message with my mom. I was very shy and too afraid to call him
back. He called a 2nd time and mom answered again. This time
she said, "I cant believe she did not call you back, If she doesnt call
you back this time then I will call you back myself." I finally listened
to her despite my embarrassment and finally called him back. Thanks to my mom
married a wonderful guy.
I watched my mom complete her checklist of daily tasks. She would
taught me lessons about life skills. She loved to sew and was always hemming
pants. Ironing was another favorite chore. When she was in the hospital, I
asked her one thing she really missed and she said ironing and laundry. Both
for sure are skills that I did not inherit! You could barely take off an item
of clothing before it was in the laundry being washed. Up until the last week
of her life, mom did laundry and ironed. One morning a few days ago I went over
there and she was in the laundry room crying. I said "mom, what’s
wrong?" she replied, "this is probably the last time I will get to
iron dads pants." I have mentioned that this is not something I would be crying
about, but we along with my dad cried over laundry that morning.
When we were younger, mom loved to bake. There were few days that
we ran in the door from school where there were not cookies on the counter. She
taught me to clean up as I cooked. It was so much easier to start with a clean
kitchen and clean as you went. Then when you were done, there was little mess
left. Mom loved a clean house with no clutter. I am pretty sure she made at
least one trip a month to the DI. Her house was always clean, even in her last
days she was adjusting lampshades and dusting the furniture. I think we all
have a little OCD in us from mom.
Birthdays and holidays were always a big deal to my mom. We
celebrated everything with a party. She had a birthday song that she made up
and on the morning of your birthday. You were greeted with her serenading you.
Family vacations were also something my mom really enjoyed. I can’t even count
the number of times mom and Pat England piled all of us kids in the back of the
suburban, no seatbelts, just lots of pillows and blankets as we headed to St.
George. Yellowstone, Tetons, Jackson Hole, SunValley, Midway the beach and in
the last few years Disneyland were some of her favorite spots. We all took a
trip to Disneyland this past November where my mom rode Splash Mountain and
Space Mountain with her grandkids.
Mom was our greatest cheerleader as well as our biggest critic.
She always pushed us to be better and stronger that we thought we were. When I
began college at the U, she encouraged me step a little outside of my comfort
zone, and into the real world by joining a sorority. She told me that I needed
to see how many wonderful people there are in the world. I was surrounded by
people of all faiths and backgrounds. She would always say, "you are
stronger than you think you are." Through this experience, mom taught me
that no matter someone’s background, the world was full of individuals worth
getting to know.
Mom would listen to our problems, give us guidance, and help us
along the way. She would always say "life’s not fair, and I wish I could
tell you this is going to be the hardest thing you will go through, but its
probably not." Mom was our biggest support when it came to helping us be
better mothers. She loved her grandchildren and they loved her. When my little
boy Oliver was 21 month old he spent 18 days at Primay Childrens Hospital
battling pneumonia. My mom and dad were there every single day. They held my
hand as and helped me through one of the hardest times in my life. My mom and
Ollie always had a special bond after that. Just a few days ago I went into my
moms room and told her that Oliver had broken his arm. He is a little accident
prone, I told her that she needed to watch over him while she was in heaven. It
had been several days since she had spoken, but as I held her hand, I cried and
told her of my concerns, she squeezed my hand and a tear streamed down her
face. I know that she is going to be watching over and protecting her 14
grandchildren each and every day.
Mom entered the hospital on January 2nd. Each day we
had with her this year was a gift. We got to talk, laugh and cry together. We
were able to serve her. She taught important life lessons until the day she
died. She told me many times that she was not afraid of death. She had a firm
testimony of the plan of salvation. She knew that we would be together again.
One of our last family gatherings mom told us that she had a very vivid dream.
In her dream she could see very clearly that we would all be together again.
She told us that she loved each one of us and, that in life all that matters is
family. Family is what our life here on earth is all about. My mom’s legacy was
her family, her children and grandchildren.
All that I am and ever hope to be, I owe to my mother. She taught
me how to be strong, independent, kind and caring. Most importantly she taught
me how to be a wife and a mother. She taught me to love the gospel and enjoy
family. She is and was my greatest teacher and I hope that each day I can make
her more proud of me than the day before. I love you mom.
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