Things Mama never told me...

My mother is an amazing woman. I cannot say that enough. As I look back on the years I've been blessed to get to love her, I can truly say she has been nothing short of a blessing to me. Now that I am a Mom myself, I catch myself relishing, sometimes in a complete daze, at the moments that surround me as I watch my children play, laugh, cry, and learn. God has abundantly blessed me with 5 beautiful children Earth-side and 1 baby I'll get to meet and embrace in Heaven one day.

There is so much beauty there in the day-to-day living. I realize that while my Mama has been by my side since day 1, there are things she just never told me. Like...

1. How fast time would pass. How can I possibly have a soon-to-be 19 year old in her first year of college? Or my little one already being FOUR!? Impossible. Time is surely a thief.

2. There is beauty in the subtle things. Smudges on the windows, fingerprints on the table, soap on the side of the tub (because you know - "spa concoctions" and all). When did grubbiness get so cute, huh?

3. When they aren't with you, you miss them. Genuinely miss them. I know I'm not the only mom to be excited for a kid-free moment, only to miss them as soon as it's quiet or something fun happens. 

4.  You fall deeper in love with your spouse when they become a Dad. Watching Kris with our kiddos warms my soul. I mean, get you a daddy who not only does your laundry when you come home from college for the weekend, but also folds it, gasses up your car, cooks 7 (yes SEVEN) different meals to freeze in individual bags for you...a daddy who shows up to every single game, competition, showcase, concert. Every. Single. One. Watching how hard he loves them makes me love him fiercely. 

5. You feel bad because of the way you realize you may have treated your mama. She deserved better than my teenage know-it-all attitude that's for sure. I see that now that I get to deal with that same attitude at times. She always showed up for me though. Whether it was to bring my forgotten shoes for dance team practice or to cheer me on at football games or to help me change between dance routine numbers at recitals. She was always there dealing with me and whatever I needed and I am so grateful that she still is now. Because of her, I know how important it is to show up for my own kids. 

6. You'll feel like you won the lottery watching your children excel at things they put their all into. You'll also hurt with them with things don't go their way. I'm trying to teach them to "lean not on their own understanding" though. Thank you, Lord for the words in scripture that help me to help them through it.

7. Which brings me to my last number. She taught me how important it is to give it to God. To put my all into loving like Jesus. To pray. I cannot remember a single Sunday that we weren't in church. I grew up in a small bayou church filled with big love. Everyone cared for every single person there. I remember coffee and cookies after service and many, many memories of gatherings in the Parish Hall. Baby showers, weddings, bible studies, wedding showers, classes. So many smiles, meals, prayer, and love in those walls. She allowed me to attend Wednesday night student services, church camps, and events. She planted the seed that has grown so fiercely in me.

I only hope to be a fraction of the Mama she was. 

I pray one day when my own children look back on my life, they remember all the love I have for them. God gave them to me and I won't take it for granted.

"Her children arise and call her blessed; 

her husband also, and he praises her: 

'Many women do noble things, 

but you surpass them all." 

Proverbs 31:28-29

I love you, Mama.