Happy Mother's Day!

These are the guys in my life responsible for making me a mother. I couldn't have the little guy call me "Momma" without the big guy first calling me "Baby". Aren't they handsome?

This is the woman responsible for making the man who is responsible for making me a mother. I'm very blessed to have her in my life. I hear horror stories about mothers-in-law. When I married my husband, I got a second Mom. This one's for you, Mom #2.

Star Mother-In-Law
Some mother-in-laws are possessive;
Their child they still want to own.
My mother-in-law’s love is like sunlight;
On both of us it shone.
Some mother-in-laws put you down;
They think you’re not good enough.
My mother-in-law shows approval,
Affection, and other good stuff.
Some mother-in-laws interfere;
They think that they know best.
My mother-in-law lets us be;
She’s better than the rest.
And so I just want to thank you
For being who you are;
You’ve made everything so easy;
As a mother-in-law, you’re a star!
By Joanna Fuchs


This is the woman responsible for making me. I wouldn't even be here without her. Although, she did have a little help from Dad. There were always lots of giggles in our house growing up. Lots of estrogen with Mom, me and my sister. Even the dog was a female. I remember times that the three of us would be tickled about something and laughing so hard that Dad would come in from the garage with a confused look on his face wanting to know "What in the world was going on?". He usually left with the same confused look. I also remember times at the dinner table when Mom would say something silly, causing me to spew Pepsi out my nose. Don't try that at home - it's not good for the sinuses. If you really must flush your sinuses, use a netti pot instead. I'm just sayin'. We still have lots of giggles when we're all together, which isn't as much as used to be since I up and left the state and all. Thanks, Mom, for all the laughs.


This is the woman responsible for making the woman who is responsible for making me. I suppose that I wouldn't be here without her either. Although, she did have a little help from Papaw. Granny had a remedy for everything in life that ailed you. It usually consisted of black salve or peppermints. Although I was raised in Michigan, my family's blood is firmly rooted in the south. Because of this, Granny had some great one-liners. "Why, he's as brazen as a brass monkey!" Don't even ask what it meant. "Once the pie's been sliced - ain't nobody gonna miss a piece." We took her to the pharmacy to pick up her "subscriptions".

I love this picture of Granny and my son. It was the last time she saw him before she died. Can't you just see her drinking him in? As a woman who lived through the Great Depression, a miscarriage, the still-birth of her twin daughters and the death of one of her twin sons, she had an understanding of what the important things in life are. I often find myself wishing that I would have been able to know her more as an adult. You think about things when you have a family that never cross your mind before that.

This is the woman responsible for making the man who is responsible for marrying the woman who is responsible for making me. I suppose I wouldn't be here without her either. Although, she did have a little help from Papaw Shepherd. She never saw my son. Heck, she never even saw my sister. But, I have the most wonderful memories of her even though I was five when she died and we didn't even live in the same state. She lived in the mountains of West Virginia. I always wanted to live in the mountains because of our visits there. I still daydream of living in the mountains one day.

Mawmaw Shepherd was responsible for my first sentence at 10 months old: "You mean to me.". That's what I told my mom when we got home after one of those heavenly visits to the "Mountain State". She was a wonderful seamstress. When she was dying of cancer and bedridden, the family hooked up a doorbell by her bedside so she could ring it when she needed something. She used to let me ring that doorbell and freak out the family members. She didn't care as long as I was having a good time.

I'm thankful for all the "mothers" in my life. I'm also thankful that I have joined the ranks of those women. I believe it to be the most rewarding (and at times, challenging) of life's privileges. I'm also thankful for the men in my life who are the reason I can celebrate today. I love you guys!

So, today, I wish all of you mothers out there a Happy Mother's Day. Celebrate it. Enjoy it. Be thankful for the gift of Motherhood!

BEING A MOM
The house is untidy from window to door,

Marks on the walls and food on the floor.
The washing's unwashed and the dishes are too,

There's scum in the bathroom and fat on the stew.
There are toys in the passage and under our feet.

The garden's a jungle when seen from the street.
So what have I done, then to earn my repose?

To just look around me you'd say no-one knows!
I've held a small hand as her first steps she took.
I've made animal noises as we read a book.
I've built a mud pie and admired a snail.
I've rescued the cat from a grip on her tail.
I've wiped away tears, and I've listened to tales.
I've used mediation to get smiles from wails.
So I guess what I've done isn't easy to see -
It won't clean the house and it won't cook the tea.
But if I have helped make a child feel good,

know that she's loved and that she's understood,

then I know that my work,though not easy to see,

is just as important as any could be.
~~ Author Unknown ~~

Happy Mother's Day!