In a word...

Mother's have the opportunity to be that person who can teach their children how to survive at life.  And my mother was no exception.

Teaching me how to prepare meals.  How to work in the garden.  How to keep a clean house.

But I also learned...

How to handle a bad break up.  How to show up for work despite a headache.  How to care for others.

My mom took the time when I was little to ensure that I would be the responsible, honest and creative woman that I am today.  And I thank you for that Mom.  You took your job seriously, and I am a better woman because of it.  

Now that I'm a grown woman, with children of my own, she is still teaching me.  

Just yesterday, I learned a lesson in priorities from a story she relayed about her childhood.

"Every year, when we had that one warm week mid-May, we would beg my Dad to take us to Harper Lake for a swim.  He knew it would be too cold to swim yet, but he would dutifully load us all up and drive us to the lake where he would watch us run in the water.  Shriek. And run back out asking to be taken back home."

Convicted, I shared that I would not have put forth the effort to do that knowing it would be a wasted trip.  

"But he knew that taking the time to let us see for ourselves that the water would be too cold was easier than listening to us continue to ask for the rest of the day." 

I got it.

But one of my favorite things that my mother taught me was this:

                           DECADENCE

It happened quite a few years ago now, but I remember it clearly.  It was a Mom and Daughters shopping day and time for lunch.  She drove into Baker's Square and said "Today I'm going to teach you something I haven't yet.  How to be Decadent."  We went inside, and instead of ordering sandwiches, she asked for the dessert menu and we ate.  French silk pie and cheesecake.  It is a memory I will never forget.  How we giggled like school girls.  Feeling like we were sneaking a treat when no one was looking.  Loving every bite.

I know there will come a day when I will teach my children about decadence.  But until then, I hope I can be the kind of Mom that my Mom was for me.  Always there.  Always loving.  Always willing to teach.  I LOVE YOU MOM