Happy Birthday Mom!

It's my mom's birthday today. The lame gift I got for her (desperately trying to think of something to give her that she actually would want) and the homemade card from the kids is not nearly enough to celebrate the birth of someone I love so much, the person I owe so very much too. This blog post won't do the trick either, but I wanted to tell everyone a little bit about my amazing mom.

Three words come quickly to mind.......

Constant
My mom has always been there. Never was there a time in my life when I didn't know that my mom was there for me. From my earliest memories, my mom could be counted on. I'm sure I took this for granted most of my life, but now that I have children of my own I realize how much sacrifice being there all the time requires. Now that I'm older I recognize how valuable it was to come home from school each day and have mom there, to be able to call her from college and talk to her about everything, to call her all the time now. I call her almost every day with problems to solve or just to tell her everything and chat about life. She's there, and I'm so grateful.

Capable
Everybody always tells me that my mom can do anything. "You're Janice's daughter!" they say with awe and envy. They're hoping I know how lucky I am and I do. My mom really can do almost anything. She plays the piano and organ, cooks wonderful food, keeps a perfectly clean and beautiful home, gardens, sews and quilts, decorates, gives amazing talks and lessons, is a gifted teacher and student, is well read, knows everything about politics, is a friend to everyone, dresses with style, manages money well, lives the gospel, is wise and knowledgeable, is a great mother, and wonderful grandmother.......I could go on forever. She truly is one of the most capable people I know. Her skills are always in demand. She has taught me to have confidence in my abilities as well and I'm grateful for that. Besides, if I can't do it, I can call her for help and she probably can.

Compassionate
I don't know if my mom thinks of herself as a compassionate person by nature, but she most assuredly is. She is always giving service. Now a days, when I call home to chat, dad answers the phone. I ask for mom. "She's off to someones house visiting." Just yesterday we were chatting and someone was on the call waiting. "I've got to go, it's this lady in my ward that's really sick. I'll call you back later." My mom's a smart gal. She would have been an amazing career women, but over and over she has put her dreams and ambitions aside so she could be more available to serve her family, neighbors, church members and friends. She always says that no one would ever describe her as sweet, but I most certainly would.

These are only three words to describe my mom. There are so many other great words I could employ like dedicated, fun, smart, responsible, spiritual, interesting, faithful.....and on and on. Happy Birthday Mom. I love you more than I can say. I owe more to you than I could ever repay. Thanks for being my mom and my friend. I hope your day is perfect.