Let's Talk: Gee

Happy Tuesday friends!!! I just could not pull my stuff together in time after the Easter weekend for the Let's Talk link up with Andrea and Erika, so today, I'm pulling my head out of the sand and sharing yesterday's topic!

Moms......

You see, I have a pretty fabulous mom, probably the best there is, and I just couldn't not share about her!

I'm not going to chat much today about my relationship with my mom when I was younger. Don't get me wrong, it was great! She was always there and was someone I could count on to give me advice or smart enough to know when I needed to figure it out on my own. 

It wasn't until I got married and moved away, and then later became a mom myself, when I really began to appreciate my mom's in ways that I've never appreciated her before. She became my very best friend. 

Even now, she's my best friend. I don't have to think twice about it. I need my mom more today than I ever did growing up. We talk at least once a day on the phone- I call her every day on my way to work- and sometimes we talk twice, or even 5 or 6 times. She's an ear when I need to vent, a shoulder that I need to lean on, and I can bounce my ideas off of her and she'll give me advice, suggestions, or just listen. We really do have the best relationship. 

I'm so thankful that she was there when all of my children were born. In fact, she was probably the first to hold each of the girls after DJ and myself.

My mom and I were able to celebrate my first Mother's Day together. I'll always remember that weekend in St. Louis and getting to share the day with her.

I'm sure that my mom was a little uneasy when I married DJ, knowing that we could (and have) live all over. Growing up, we always lived close to my grandparents and family, and I'm the one that has gotten married and moved away. When we moved to Indiana, it was so hard. We saw each other just a few times a year. But, I could also count on her to be at Gretchen's birthday parties, visit us in the spring, help me move and redecorate.... when I needed her, she was there. 

I've loved seeing her play with my kids. She's just the best Gee. 

When I was pregnant with Gretchen, my mom didn't want to be called "Grandma." She wanted something a bit more unique, and ended up coming up with "Gran". However, Gretchen couldn't say Gran very well, and it ended up sounding like, Gee (long e sound), and it's stuck. 

And when DJ moved to Tulsa and Gretchen and I were left in Indiana, she made sure that she'd be around for Megan's arrival too. (Thankfully DJ was also there!) But, DJ could only stay for a few days before he had to get back to high school football camps, so my mom stayed behind and helped me adjust to being a mom of two. I am so thankful that she was able to step in those few days. 

Her hands are full, but her heart is not. 

A few weeks after Megan was born, my mom headed home and we moved to Tulsa. I remember calling her, crying because the movers had just left boxes in our Tulsa home, and they were piled to the ceiling. I totally thought I could handle a 3 year old, a newborn, and unpacking while my husband was away at work. I called her over-reacting, and crying my eyes out because I just could not do it and I could not wait three more days for her to arrive to help me unpack. She managed to drop everything and arrived the next day to help. By the end of that day, everything was unpacked and put away.

And when I turned 30, she took me on a getaway cruise, because this mamma needed it! 

We toured New Orleans and packed a bunch of us in to a tiny elevator! 

And then we set sail on the perfect little getaway.

It's pretty rare that mothers and daughters are as close as we are.

But, it's also not surprising since my mom is just as close to her mom as I am to her.

My grandmother has been having some health issues as of late, and my mom has stepped in and is practically a super-hero. I know that she's stressed and overwhelmed, but I also know that she's making the best of a bad situation. She has always had a servant's heart, and its showing more now that she is taking care of my grandmother. My heart aches knowing that my mom is watching my grandmother get sicker and sicker, and there's nothing she can do to stop it. But she has a great sense of humor about it, because sometimes the best medicine is to just laugh about things, or vent about them, or cry about them. But I haven't heard my mom do any of those things. She's so strong and she's holding things together with grace and poise. 

I just have been really blessed to know how wonderful this lady is. 

One of my mom's favorite things to do is travel. Whether it's sitting on a cruise ship or getting away with friends, she loves to be with the people that she's closest with. For as long as I can remember, the girls in my family would pack up the day after Thanksgiving and head to Branson for shopping. I'm so thankful that we live close enough that the girls and I can join in on annual Branson trips! 

My parents were divorced when I was about 6 years old. I know I said I wasn't going to talk a lot about my childhood, because my relationship with my mom really grew in to what it is when I became an adult, but thinking back, I have to add that being a single mom she still totally held everything together. I know that I could never be a single mom. I don't have it in me and I'd be crazy stressed! But she worked, cooked dinner, and ran my brother and I to after school activities. I never remember her yelling at us. I remember her spanking us but never yelling! She was just patient and she managed to play the role of both parents remarkably well. 

My mom also loves Jesus. I am so thankful that she raised me in a Christian home and that she dragged me to church every time the doors were open! I'm thankful to know that she prays for me every single day. If it weren't for my mother, I know that I wouldn't have a relationship with Christ. It's her example that made me understand what being a Christian means. 

I mentioned before that my mom was there for each of my daughter's births. My mom works as a labor and delivery nurse, so I knew that she'd be in the room with DJ and I as the girls were born. There's no one else I trusted more with my care and that of the girls. She held me while I received each epidural (I made DJ wait in the hall each time!) and she talked me through every part of the process. Gretchen had meconium when she was born, and she let me know what the risks were and that I may not get to hold her right away, and she managed to not let me freak out about it. She helped me through my natural labor with Megan, because I was too stubborn to get the epidural sooner! And she was there when Addy was born and never left my side. 

Seriously seeing her with each of her granddaughters just minutes after they were born is just so special. 

When I got married, my mom planned this elaborate bridal weekend. As I was planning my speech to each of my bridesmaids and other family members I just couldn't think of the right words to say. How could I possibly thank her for every single thing she has done for me? Sometimes there are just no right words. And even now I have a hard time finding the right words for just how much she means to me. 

Thank you mom for being you. Thank you for being the best Gee. 

Thank you for making my girls pancakes every single morning when we visit. 

Thank you for loving me, for loving DJ, and for loving our girls. Thank you for being selfless and patient and caring and kind. Thank you for having a gentle spirit and for being real and honest. 

You have set the most amazing example of what it means to be a mom. I have a lot to look up to.

I love you!