Happy birthday to YOU!

One hour from now is my 35^th birthday. The past several days I’ve been thinking that every blogger needs a good birthday blog. But I don’t know what to share or what funny story would be worthy of a birthday edition of Greenlizard.

I thought about how turning 35 means that on surveys and forms, I’m falling into a new and older age bracket. Yeah, that’s fun.

I also thought about how, when I go to the gym, not only do I now have to program the machine with one more year added to my age, but being 6 months pregnant, I also have to hit the + button for about five minutes to get it adjusted up to my appropriate weight. These two factors combined make for a really sunny start to my mornings for the next few months!

But as I thought about these things, I came to the conclusion that I don’t really mind being another year older. (And, truth be told, I don’t mind being pregnant and gaining weight so long as I don’t break the treadmill!)

So I began to think about my goals for this year…and what I hope to accomplish and who I hope to become this year. Quite frankly, with four children and a 5^th on the way, I don’t really have time for goals. I’m not a goal oriented person anyhow. I’m a doer. Just give me a job and I’ll do it but don’t ask me to think too hard about the big picture.  So I couldn’t write about that, either.

As I struggle to come up with something to write about… and as I ponder the dawn of another birthday, I thought about my mother and since I wouldn’t be here writing without her bringing me into this world, what could be more fitting than to write about her?! A tribute to the one woman who intimately shares my “birth day”. (SURPRISE MOM!!!)

For those who have been blessed with an amazing mother, you know how valuable it is to have a friend you can trust and a woman in your life who you know will always be there for you. My mother is one of those amazing women. She humbly serves her family and friends, but does it so quietly that you might not ever notice. She never complains and she is always looking for the best in any situation. She is, without a doubt, a woman to be admired, emulated, and treasured.

I've decided to highlight just a few of the many lessons mom has taught me over the years:

Independence

Growing up, I used to make cookies with my cousins every weekend. Always chocolate chip (is there really any other kind of cookie worth eating?) Mom wasn’t involved at all. She gave us freedom in the kitchen to bake to our hearts content. And we did. She didn’t hover over us and show us how to measure and what to do.

Samantha sometimes bakes cookies at our house… and I now realize how much patience it requires to let your kids be independent. Kids make A MESS in the kitchen. And they don’t seem to know how to clean it up. All I recall is mom letting us bake… and never getting angry. And probably doing all the clean up because I don’t recall ever doing that, either!

How to Listen

I might have been in high school… I don’t know. I was older but not married or anything. I so clearly recall sitting at the kitchen table talking to my mom. I was going on and on about who knows what. I only know that I talked a long time about, essentially, nothing. And she sat there listening to me. As I blathered on, it hit me, “My mom is sitting here listening to me and this must be SO BORING for her…but she is here. Listening.” It meant a lot to me in that moment… even if she was figuring out a grocery list in her head, she never showed it!

The other day, Samantha was at the kitchen table while I was making lunches. She had a book - 101 Hamburger Jokes - and she proceeded to read me joke after joke until I was ready to shoot myself in the head. (How many versions of a joke about hamburgers could possibly be funny enough for a whole book?!) And then I thought of my mother. And I listened and feigned laughter. And let her go anther two jokes before I told her to get dressed for the day.

Service

Where do I begin to describe mom’s service?! She doesn’t quit and she never complains. From a very young age, I can recall her volunteering for the local crisis pregnancy hotline and taking calls at our house from women in crisis. And she was always the mom bringing in goodies for the teachers and staff at our school. She regularly met with younger women and mentored them. And as her parents aged, she cared for them until the end. Even now, she drives friends to the hospital for cancer treatments and takes meals to those who need them. And all of this is ON TOP OF the countless hours she gives to her children and grandchildren.

I love my mom. I hope to be like her some day. I’m not there yet. Sure, I help out where I can but I can’t say I always do it without complaining. Her example of service is one I am trying to grow into.

Faith

Mom made sure we knew who Jesus was. She lived it. So many mornings when we were watching

Sesame Street

in the living room, she sat at the kitchen table with her Bible open, her brown/white speckled sweater on, and the blue speckled mug with a white rim filled with coffee next to her. When my sister and I were homeschooled, we woke up every morning and read a chapter of the book of Proverbs with mom, picking out a verse that “meant something to us”. And then there was the summer that she hosted an entire Vacation Bible School program for the church AT OUR HOUSE because it was important to her and she wanted to reach out to the neighborhood. Her love for God and others knows no bounds.

At this stage of my life, it amazes me the depth of her love for Christ and the way she prioritized what was important. I struggle to read a verse of the Bible to my kids in the morning… mom never failed.

Simple Pleasures

Growing up, mom was always up for a drive to get an ice cream cone and at baseball games, or festivals, nothing beat fried dough. But the simplest of pleasures that mom passed on to me was her love of coffee. Of the four kids in the family, it’s safe to say I’m the biggest coffee drinker. Well, maybe not the biggest (Becca rivals me at this point!) but I’ve definitely enjoyed coffee the longest! Mom and I would have coffee together at night from the time I was about 11 years old! I’m grateful for her love of simple pleasures!

I guess that’s why I don’t really mind when my own kids ask for a cup of coffee. It didn’t stunt my growth. It didn’t keep me up late at night. But it did give me an appreciation for the simple things in life… like spending time together… whether drinking coffee or getting an ice cream.

In Conclusion

This blog is not doing my mom justice.

I could go on and on. Even what I have written so far seems to lack so much. Let me just say that she is an amazing person. I’m so grateful to her for so many reasons. And I hope that someday I might be just a sliver of the person she is today.

Proverbs 31 sums up my mother. It really does. In describing a woman with great character it says: “Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her: Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all. Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.

Thank you mom for who you are. Thank you for your example. Thank you for your love. And thank you for giving me life. Happy 35^th anni-birth-day – to YOU!

Gratitude

Right now, I am grateful. I have a quiet moment all to myself and I'm grateful.

 

This week, my kids and I have been talking about gratefulness in the morning as we eat breakfast. We have these little cards from church that go along with what they are doing in Sunday School and apparently, this month must be gratefulness. Seems appropriate for November when everyone on Facebook is posting things they are thankful for.

 

Anyhow, one of the suggested activities for this month was to make a gratefulness box. We were instructed to decorate the box and fill it with little slips of paper listing some of the things we are grateful for. We still have to make the box but I wrote some of our ideas... hoping that the box will get made soon. I think we'll try to fill the box and read through the items over Thanksgiving weekend.

 

A sampling of some of the things the kids are grateful for:

• family & friends
• a brain (Samantha)
• Papa – because he plays with us a lot
• holidays like Christmas because we get to see our family (Michael)
• Jesus
• school
• Eli, Lucy, Aivlyn, Aunt Jen, & Uncle Jeremy (Jessica)
• food
• PBS Kids
• Michael at school (Amanda – I don't really know what this meant... I think maybe she is grateful when Michael GOES to school.)

Another suggested activity was to pick your favorite day ever – a special day that you have experienced and draw a cartoon about all of the different things you did that day...and put it in the box. We went around the table sharing what our favorite day would be if we had time to draw it out (which, of course we didn't have because we never really have time to do anything but eat in the morning.)

 

What struck me was what Samantha said. Of all the days she could have picked, she shared about a day this summer that she and Paul took a bike ride – just the two of them – to Netsins Ice Cream and bought a colossal six-scoop sundae and shared it. It was a day that seemed insignificant to me but it really meant something to her. Never underestimate the importance of one-on-one time with your kids! I know I really need to work on that.

As I appreciate this quiet moment, I think I could fill up our gratefulness box with a list of my own. Life isn't perfect, but it sure is good. And I have a lot to be thankful for. I'm thankful for things like: my washer & dryer, delicious food, coffee in the morning, kids that love to be tickled, a husband who reminds me of my worth, forgiveness, friendship, sunny fall days, and a contented heart.

 

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 says "Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."

 

I hope you have a wealth of blessings in your life today – no matter what the circumstance. And that you find your box is overflowing gratitude.