My son moved to North Carolina the last of May. He works for the Army. I will miss being able to call him up, which is what I would do sometimes while he lived just down the road a bit, in Atlanta. Then we would meet somewhere for Sunday lunch after church, or special events, somewhere near the perimeter. I laughingly told him, "I will have to meet you somewhere in South Carolina now. That should be about half way." I have learned from him: how to be careful on the computer, how to blog and connect to the 'world wide web'; and to not give my computer viruses, and such. I have learned how to be 'Mom' to an adult son, how to truly let him 'fly, even soar'. I am so very proud of you "my son".
And my daughters, each unique in their own right, yet similar in their pursuit for excellence. For those of you who follow my blog, I would like to share one of their writings. They have both taught me how to be a "Mom to a Mom", my 'first-born' and my 'second-born' I am truly grateful to you both.
To my children,
It has become a tradition each year to return to the small town where I grew up and attend the Memorial Day Parade.
You are always excited to see "princesses" (pageant winners), "karate heroes" (local martial arts classes), soldiers and "the horses that come at the end and poop all in the road." The highlight for you is probably the extraordinary loot of candy that you always bring home, tossed from classic cars, trailers full of sports teams being pulled behind trucks, and tractors.
There comes a time in the parade each year when a hush falls over the crowd and no candy is thrown. Somehow, even though you are all still young, you know to wait quietly while this group in the parade passes. You can't read well enough to understand yet what this group represents. If you looked behind you during the moments, when the only sound is shuffling feet on asphalt, you would see me wiping tears from my cheeks and you might ask, "Mommy, why are you crying?"
If you turned and ask me that, my loves, I would answer:
The signs that they hold as they go quietly by are the names of the recently fallen from our state. They are names of soldiers, warriors, mommies, daddies, sons, daughters, sisters, brothers, and friends who have given everything in the name of freedom.
Some were boys recently graduated from high school, going to see the world and make a difference.
Some were fathers and grandfathers who devoted their adulthood to serving our country.
Some were sisters keeping a commitment they made to help pay for school.
I'm sure each one had a different reason for joining the fight to ensure freedom, but they all had the same commitment to give whatever was required.
These tears come for many reasons.
They come for the families and friends left behind.
They come for the soldiers who fought alongside these in their final moments.
They come because there is still a need to fight.
But most of all, my love, they come because you and I have been protected by these.
You fall asleep at night without fear of attack.
You don't know the sound of mortar fire or machine gun.
We worship when and where and how we please.
We come and go, buy and sell, speak and think, learn and grow in freedom because of those who are willing to fight on our behalf.
So the tears are tears of gratitude; a quiet offering of thanks to those who are willing and able to do what I cannot. These are the reasons that Mommy cries at a parade.
Both daughters are funny and respectful, with a vibrant mixture of both equally. Can I say again, "how grateful I am to them both?"
Now that you are crying tears of gratitude, laugh with us with gratitude as well:
This is an acceptance speech written after winning a contest.
First of all I want to say “Wow”! What an honor! That I would even be in this category with such ugly sofas is an amazing feat, I feel so undeserving next to such decorating atrocities.
Thank you to the Academy of ugly sofas ( uglysofa.com ) for bestowing this title upon us.
There is one person that I must thank, because without him, I would have never picked out this sofa 13 years ago and that is my husband Todd. Thanks babe, I love you!
To my children, who put every stain on there with love. From every runny nose, to every instance of projectile vomit, to every accident during potty-training; it all launched us forward to this day and this contest. You are my angels and you were so instrumental in this achievement.
Thank you to my son Andrew who served as my photographer, it was truly an award-winning photo.
Thank you to my friend Andrea for slipcovering your sofa recently, if it had not been for you I would have never heard of uglysofa.com, or at least not in time for this contest.
And lastly, but certainly not least, I am forever grateful to those of you who are my biggest supporters: my facebook friends who not only “liked” my sofa but some of you even shared it on your wall as well. We have been through so much together: likes and dislikes, friending and unfriending, hiding and poking, but you are still here. You were there when I shamelessly solicited votes so that I could win and gain monetarily. For that I commend you, and you can bet that I will be there in the same manner for you.
I will “like” your photo of your child even when another kid is way cuter. I will “like” your business even though I have never used your services and I don’t really know what you do. I will “like” your pet even though I am not a pet person and to be honest animals annoy me. Why do I say all these things, I don’t know one of the kids distracted my and I lost my train of thought…
Oh yeah, I will be there for you because that is what facebook friends are for!
