My mom is an extraordinary woman. She has been through alot and forced to deal with more than her fair share. She is kind and giving. She is thoughtful and sincere. She has a gift for sharing messages and teaching through stories.
I'm sure raising us was a hard. I'm sure there a dozen things she would have done differently or wished to do over. But as her daughter, I wouldn't have her change a thing. She taught us charity, humility, compassion and forgiveness. Her example has left an indelible mark on my life. She is my friend as well as my mom. And sometimes those lines can blur. As friends we fight, argue, feel hurt and disagree. But as mother and daughter we forgive, accept and love.
When my mom married her current husband, our relationship almost didn't make it. We were in a bad spot. Even today we don't talk about him or it. We just focus on other things. I think she does that because she knows it upsets me and I do it because I find it hard to filter my emotions and feelings about it. We have agreed to disagree and moved on. Hopefully one day we can approach this and come to terms, but for now this is working.
During that rocky period, my mom fell deathly ill. She was in the ICU for almost 2 months. She was confused, delirious, angry and barely hanging onto life. The doctors were honest and forthright and said it's day by day, but it doesn't look good. They even told me to get her affairs in order. The whole time she was sick (whether she was sleeping or off in lala land) I kept thinking this can't be how it ends. We were barely talking prior to this and I had said some hurtful things. Now she was on heavy meds and saying hurtful things. She was angry I wouldn't take her home and help her leave that horrible place. Delusions were getting the best of her and she was angry, hurt and mean. I know it wasn't her talking, but it still hurt. And the whole time I kept thinking I hope it doesn't end like this! Every time I stepped off the private elevator in the ICU to visit her, I would say a little prayer. I would beg and plead that she still be there and the bed wouldn't be empty. I didn't care if she was angry with me or confused...just be there. She's my mom. And I'll love her and accept her no matter what.
I hope my actions and care for her during that time demonstrated how much I love her. I am thankful for her support and love. I am thankful for her example. She is giving and kind and always thinking of others. I couldn't have asked for a better mother and friend!
And to end things on a slightly lighter note...
My mom used to make cakes to supplement her income. It was a second job in which she put the money away and spent it on us kids. One time she took us to Disney World in Florida and another time on a week long trip to Utah. She would also use that money for Christmas gifts for us. Which demonstrates how selfless she is. She always put us first.
Anyway, back to the cakes...So from as early back as I can remember she made cakes for all types of occasions. Birthdays, anniversaries, graduations, a few weddings, bachelor and bachelorette parties, retirements etc. She had quite the following. She made all of our birthday cakes growing up and our wedding cakes.
Now the cakes...my mom was creative. One of her greatest talents if you ask me! AND this was way before pinterest and google. She came up with some pretty ingenious ways to convey sentiments.
Bachelor and Bachelorette cakes...full on male and female body parts made from toasted coconut, maraschino cherries, twinkies and large marshmallows. And it was a best seller because we saw ALOT of those growing up!
Birthday cakes...a horseshoe shaped cake with a bowl in the middle. In the bowl would be yellow jello, tissue paper and brown frosting. A few drops of yellow on the horseshoe and a plastic fly. And a caption that read "It's the shits to get old!"
Somewhere there are pictures of these cakes...she always took a picture of her cakes. When I find them I will post them! Still cracks me up when I think of my sweet old mom making raunchy cakes like that. But people loved them! And her! She's one of a kind!
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