My mom is completely amazing! For years she woke up at the crack of dawn with me and drove me to the ice rink in the freezing cold and then would get the other kids up and ready and off to school and then come and get me 2 or 3 hours later and take me to school. She did everything she could to make sure that I could live my dreams. She "homeschooled" me (though we both admit we used that term loosely) for my electives, provided every opportunity to go to nearly every competition I wanted. When I made a goal that I was going to go to Regionals in Kansas City in 7th grade she completely supported me, even when others didn't think I could do it. I got to the level I needed to to compete at that competition and she braved a long drive in an awful RV to get me there. Things didn't work out so great there, I skated horribly, my absolute worst skate at the time and we ended up in a hotel. I felt completely defeated but my mom helped me find the joy in the journey and helped me realize that I should be happy and proud of myself just for accomplishing my original goal to even make it to the competition. She has done a million other wonderful things for me along with being a skating mom but it embodies most of the other things she has given me and that I have learned from her. I have really been thinking about it a lot since I have become a coach. Most moms think I'm crazy when I even suggest that they come to the rink early in the mornings let alone traveling to other states to compete!
I am so grateful to have a mom that helped me pursue my dreams and gave me every opportunity she could. I love you mom!
ANDDD....I am also grateful for her for being a MEAN MOM
"A mom isn't someone to lean on, but a person to make leaning unncessary"
~Dorothy Canfield Fisher
Someday when my children are old enough to
understand the logic that motivates a parent, I will
tell them, as my Mean Mom told me:
I loved you enough . . . to ask where you were going, with whom,and what time you would be home.
I loved you enough to be silent and let you discover that your new best friend was a creep.
I loved you enough to stand over you for two hours
while you cleaned your room, a job that should have taken 15 minutes.
I loved you enough to let you see anger,
disappointment, and tears in my eyes.
Children must
learn that their parents aren't perfect.
I loved you enough to let you assume the
responsibility for your actions even when the
penalties were so harsh they almost broke my heart.
But most of all, I loved you enough . . . to say
NO when I knew you would hate me for it.
Those were the most difficult battles of all. I'm
glad I won them, because in the end you won, too.
And someday when your children are old enough to
understand the logic that motivates parents, you will tell them.
Was your Mom mean?
I know mine was.
We had the meanest mother in the whole world!
While other kids
ate candy for breakfast, we had to have cereal, eggs, and toast.
When others had a Pepsi and a Twinkie for lunch, we had to eat sandwiches.
And you can guess our mother fixed us a dinner that was
different from what other kids had, too.
Mother insisted on knowing where we were at all
times. You'd think we were convicts in a prison. She
had to know who our friends were, and what we were
doing with them. She insisted that if we said we
would be gone for an hour, we would be gone for an hour or less.
We were ashamed to admit it, but she had the nerve
to break the Child Labor Laws by making us work.
We had to wash the dishes, make the beds, learn to cook, vacuum the floor, do laundry,
empty the trash and all sorts of cruel jobs.
I think she would lie awake at night thinking of more things for us to do.
She always insisted on us telling the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. By the time we were teenagers, she could read our minds and had eyes in the back of her head. Then, life was really tough!
Mother wouldn't let our friends just honk the horn
when they drove up. They had to come up to the door so she could meet them. While everyone else could date when they were 12 or 13, we had to wait until we were 16.
Because of our mother we missed out on lots of
things other kids experienced. None of us have ever
been caught shoplifting, vandalizing other's property or ever arrested for any crime.
It was all her fault. Now that we have left home, we are all educated,
honest adults.We are doing our best to be mean
parents just like Mom was.
I think that is what's wrong with the world today.
It just doesn't have enough mean moms!
1 comment:
WOW! I didn't think I would hear all that from you for YEARS! Although, I knew you would figure it all out someday. Thank you….you are an awesome daughter and I am grateful we both survived your teen years! I am glad they are ending in a week! Love you…...
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