With Mother's Day here, it has made me think about how much I love and appreciate my Mom. After we got back home from spending most of the day there, I thought about what a wonderful person she is. While growing up, I wasn't really that close with my mom. I always loved and respected her, we just weren't really close. My dad says that we are to much alike to get along. And it's not really that we didn't get along, we just didn't see things the same way. I have always called her for recipes and asked her for advice and instructions, we just didn't always see things eye to eye. But things have changed a lot in the last year. Since she had her stroke, I have seen things from a different perspective. They say that when you serve someone you learn to love them and get a better understanding of them. This is so true. Soon after she had her stroke, we all realized how much it had affected her. At first she couldn't talk (her words were slurred and hard to understand), she couldn't walk, she couldn't hardly even feed herself. After we got her back home and we were having to take in meals and help her, I wasn't sure she was going to recover. She was in a wheelchair and unable to do much by herself. At the 6 month point, I took her to the Doctor and he said that she was pretty much where she was going to be. We were still taking in meals, she was still hard to understand, she could barely use a walker, and still couldn't do much for herself. But you don't raise 11 kids and not learn how to hang in and press on. It has been 1 yr. and 5 mo.'s since her stroke. She cooks their meals, does laundry, washes dishes, can walk from room to room on her own...but can jet around with her walker, and can talk pretty plain. But what I am the most impressed with her for is that she is continuing to write her life story. Several years ago she started writing it. For Christmas we got a notebook and a segment. Then for the next several years she has given us more segments to add to it. But with her stroke, we didn't think we would get any more. Someone suggested she talk into a recorder and someone else type it, but with her slurred speech we couldn't understand it. But since she has gotten a little better, she started playing games on the computer. One day I told her that she should try to write more on her life story. She said that it would take her forever to do it, since she still has the tremors and doesn't have much use at all of her right hand, and some paralysis in her left hand from her first stroke. I laughingly told her that all she really had was time now and that she could just work on it what she could. Honestly, I didn't really expect her to...it would be so frustrating for me. But for Christmas she asked me to order them a new computer to them, from them. Since she got the new computer, she has worked on her life story nearly every day. She does get frustrated. Sometimes I go over and she is all upset because she had typed a couple of paragraphs and then didn't get them saved and lost them. (I know a couple of paragraphs doesn't sound like much, but for her it truly is HUGE!) Sometimes I can go in and find them, but not always. Sometimes I have to sit down and fix the errors and clean it up for her, but I am amazed at how good she does. As I fix it I get to read what she has written and I am thrilled to be getting some of it in writing. I know that she still gets so frustrated at having to depend on Dad and I so much. She still can't drive, work in the garden...which she always loved to do, or even write her name. Dad and I tease her sometimes and she is so good to take it. I know that my going over and doing things has helped her. But I know that I am the one that is really receiving the better part of it! I love my mom and have so much respect for her. Some of the things I remember the most about her is:*Her homemade bread- she made 11 loaves at a time and didn't have any kind of machine to help- amazing!
*She is an amazing cook- she has spices and knows how to use them!
*She has a good sense of humor and can laugh at herself- when she had her first stroke and her left arm had paralysis, she named her arm 'Pickled Pete'. She still laughs when she spills things or can't grab what she is reaching for. Ariel goes over and cuts and paints her toe nails for her. It can be tricky with her foot swaying back and forth...you have to get in the rhythm to not get nail polish all over. She will just set and laugh at Ariel trying to keep up with her foot.
*She has always had a strong testimony of the gospel- her faith is unmatched.
*She has a testimony of prayer and we have all benefited from it numerous times. If she ever has a problem, she will turn to the Lord for help. It may not turn out just how she wants it to, but she is in tune enough to accept it.
*Her love and loyalty of family- with having 11 kids, you know it wasn't always easy. But she has instilled in all of us a strong sense of love for family. For having such a large family we do pretty good to all get together and stay close.
Mom, I love and admire you.
