today is...my momma

Today I'm going to be talking about my Momma. She and I haven't always agreed on things, and at times we've had some full-blown fights. But in the end, she is still my Mom and we always work it out.

Most of you know she is going through a really rough time right now. In fact today they are going to do some tests on her lungs because they think it is pulmonary. But you'd never know that she is going through so much. She isn't one of those people who talks about themselves and all the pain they are in to get sympathy. She doesn't want people to feel sorry for her or to worry about her. She is one of the strongest women I know. When I look back on my childhood and remember some of the things she did and gave up, for us, I can't believe it. But she would NEVER say anything about it because she was just "doing what I had to do". She doesn't want praise for what she did every day. I think she just wants us all to know that she did it because she loves us.

She is the ONLY person who has ever watched all of the kids over night. I trust her with the most precious things in my life and I think that says something about the respect I have for her. She is kind and gentle with them, but if they are acting up, she respects that I don't spank them so she puts them in the corner like I would. They have fun with her and BEG to go to "Gam's house". When we are 5 minutes away they know it and start screaming "Gam's house, Gam's house!" And it's not just them that begs to see her. If it has been a couple weeks since she's seen the kids, she calls me begging me to bring them over. During my pregnancy when we had to go down to Columbus all the time, she was the only one who ever watched them. But when I would try to thank her for watching them she always said "I wasn't babysitting, I was grandparenting them. They are such angels." She was the one to come over during my treatments to help occupy the kids and get them lunch and naps. She was the one going to the grocery store with me every week to push the kids around so I could get my shopping done. And when she saw the cart was too heavy for me to push, she would trade me, without a word. She didn't want me to feel worse than I already did about not being able to do normal things. And that is what I hope I can do for her right now.

No matter how many fights we have, she will always be my Mommy that I love and respect, and I hope she knows that.