If I grow up
to be anything like my mom, I will have lived a good life. My mom is full of
life. She is happy, laughs easily, reaches out to people, and gets things done.
Above all, she loves her family and the gospel. These are just a few of the
many reasons why she is one of the most influential and important people in my
life.
My mom grew
up on a farm in Jerome, Idaho with cows and gardens and muck and fun. She says
that her favorite smell in the world is that of cow manure because it reminds
her of home. Today she hates fish and milk and beef because they ate tons of it
in her house growing up--nice pieces of cow hair with the milk included. But
whenever she talks about her life growing up it sounds like so much fun. Lots
of hard work--yes! But a slower, simpler time of life.
When she
left home she went to school at BYU and got a degree in public health. After
she graduated she worked doing wilderness survival trips with troubled teens.
On these trips, she and the kids had to make their own shelters, find their own
water, and kill and cook their own food—all out in the desert! And despite the
fact that my mom hates snakes, she
even killed and ate rattlesnake on some of these adventures!
Between
trips, she met my dad and got married at the age of 26. She worked several
different jobs their first years of marriage, including helping older mentally
handicapped people learn how to live on their own. When my dad graduated and
got a job she was finally able to just stay at home with me and my sister
Emily, and she has been a stay at home mom ever since.
People love
my mom because she doesn't take herself too seriously and focuses on what
matters most rather than getting caught up in the unimportant details. Once my
mom was talking about how, as a seminary teacher, her students were often late
to class. Her philosophy on the matter? "Even if you make it to the
Celestial Kingdom late, at least you made it!" On days when I feel
overwhelmed and stressed, I'll often call my mom and she'll put things into
perspective, making me feel like I can conquer whatever "mess" I'm in
at the moment.
On that
note, another thing I love about my mom is that she listens. Every single day
for the first three years I lived away from home, I called her. Literally:
Every. Single. Day. Why? Just to talk. Just to tell. Just because I needed to
know that someone loved me enough to listen, which she did. As I've gotten
older, I realize that my mom does this for everyone in my family. My dad calls
her on his drive home from work and talks about computer parts and other work
related things that she can't understand. But even though she doesn't
understand, she listens. All my other sisters that are away from home also call
her now that they are at college and also just need someone to listen. My mom's
example in this case has taught me that one of the best ways to say: "I
love you" is to not say anything at all, but to just listen.
My mom loves the outdoors. Hiking, camping, biking…she does
it all, and has taught us to love doing it too! I think it’s safe to say that
most of my sisters’ and my favorite memories of growing up take place out in
the woods. I love that my mom isn’t afraid of getting dirty and that she taught
her five daughters to be the same.
Above all, what drives and guides my mom is her steadfast
conviction to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. One of the defining memories I have
of my mom happened when I was a Laurel, about 17 years old, and the laurel
class joined the older women in Relief Society for the third hour of church. I
sat next to my mom and as the lesson was going on the volunteer sign up binder
came to us. I knew my mom was already very busy--between teaching seminary and
taking care of five girls, she didn't have any free time. Yet as this binder
came to her, she opened it up and began signing herself up to help with
different things.
"Mom,"
I said, "Why are you signing up? You're already so busy."
She looked
at me and said something I will never forget: "If I don't sign up, who
will?"
In that
moment, I realized that it wasn't a matter of available time that motivated my
mom to sign up for things. It wasn’t that she had time, it was that she would make
time because she was dedicated to the Lord and put His work before her own. In
that room, I knew there were many people less busy than my mom who weren't
signing up to volunteer for things because they lacked the dedication that my
mother possesses. She has always been this way. In many other instances, I have
witnessed my mom sacrifice to put the Lord first and it has blessed my life
immensely. My testimony is largely a result of watching my mother live hers.
More than
perhaps any other individual on this earth, my mother has shaped me into the
person that I am today. Her confidence in and love for me gave me the wings I
needed to go forth in life unafraid and full of determination to live life
well. I know it took immense sacrifice and hard work on her part, for which I
will be forever grateful. Today, her love and example continue to bless my
life, especially now as I’m expecting a daughter of my own. I hope I can be
every bit as wonderful of a mother to her as my mother was, and continues to
be, to me.
