Let's Not Forget it's Mother's Day!

OK, my bad.  I wrote my blog post this morning totally oblivious to the fact that it was Mother's Day.  Don't judge...that also means that two of my own children that are at the house did not wish me Happy Mother's Day.  I remembered only when I received a wonderful message from Peanut on Facebook, cause she's currently at my parents' house.  So, that means you get two posts in one day... you're welcome.

That beautiful woman in the picture is my mother.  You've seen her before because I've written about her here and there on my blog over the years.  Would you believe that picture was taken on her 50th birthday?  Which was last year.  She hasn't changed a bit since that pic...she has some magical anti-aging potion that she's keeping from me, I just know it.  I just pray that I have her aging genes and that I look that wonderful at 50!

There's not really much I can say about my mom that I haven't already said many times over.  She's an amazing mother.  She's an amazing grandmother.  Now that all of her children are older and most of them have moved out and started their own families, she's opened up her home to children that need the love and support she gives as a foster mother.  She is without a doubt my best friend and my go-to person for everything.  Sure, she can drive me nuts sometimes, but she can make me laugh harder than anyone I know.

After having six children, none of which were perfect or have treated her the way she should have been treated, she still somehow manged to continue loving children enough to want more....if not biologically.  To become a foster mother after the torment my siblings and I have put her through over the years makes this woman deserve a true Mother of the Year award.

At all times there are at least two small children in her house, more often there's four or five of them....that's not including the two teenagers that are still living with her.  How that woman has the strength to put up with that many kids is beyond me... I struggle with my three.  HA!  But she does, and will, I'm sure, for many years to come.

Women like my mother really is what Mother's Day is all about.  I just hope that the siblings that are still in her home, as well as the small children, and my own child that is there right now are making her day special.  I can't be there, but this is my way of expressing my love for her... the best way I know how... with my words.

There isn't a lavish gift I could buy for my mother that would come close to matching the amount of love I have for this woman.  I don't have near enough money to even buy her a comparable gift.  I just hope that my words are enough to express the admiration, respect, and love I have for her.  

I love you Mom, HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!

But, I'm not done.  Even though I only have one mother, I also have another person that deserves some recognition today.  That person is P-Momma.

Trying to find a picture of her is tough!  She does not like having her picture taken, and she'll probably kill me when she sees that I've actually used a picture of her.

That beautiful woman is my pseudo mother-in-law, aka P-Momma.  She has been in my life for as long as Hubby's been in my life, and has treated me like a daughter every day of it.  The support, kindness, and love that this woman has shown me over the years is tremendous.  No woman could ever fill the shoes of my mother, but she ranks right up there.  Anyone she's ever introduced me to has known me as her daughter, even with some funny looks when people know full well that she only has one son.  My children are her grandchildren.  Hubby is her other son.  There's not a holiday, birthday, or special occasion that goes by that I don't hear from P-Momma so that we can get together and celebrate as a family.

P-Momma is someone I can turn to for anything, and know that she'd give me the shirt off of her back if it would help.  The generosity and kindness that this woman has shown to my family over the years is indescribable.  But that's not really what makes her special.  What makes her truly special, and like another mother to me is the love that she shows to me and my family.  We are a part of her family - no blood needed.

She offers advice when I need it, words of wisdom, and the non-sugar coated words I need to hear when I need to hear them.  They say that friends will tell you stuff to make you feel better, but true friends tell you what you need to hear regardless of how it makes you feel.  That's P-Momma.  And that's why I love her so much.

I love you, P-Momma.  HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!

I don't know what I've done throughout my life that has caused me to be blessed by two such wonderful women in my life.  My own mother and my pseudo mother.  Both provide love, support, and guidance.  Both amazing women that have sacrificed and put themselves to the side for their families.  Both models that I take my own parenting skills, nurturing skills, and commitment to my family from.

On this day, Mother's Day, I get the chance to realize how truly lucky I am.  And to tell them both, cause Lord knows I don't do it enough.  

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY to all the mothers out there!