My mom. She made it look easy. As a brand new mom of two, I know that it is anything but easy. In fact, while I was on maternity leave with my oldest daughter I remember thinking to myself, “This is the best job on earth, but wow, its harder than going to work!”
My mom stayed at home with me and my three siblings. She was always there, tending to every need, managing the house, volunteering at our schools. I could go on and on about the countless things she did for me and how grateful I am for each and every one of them and every sacrifice she made. There is one thing, however, that she gave me that sometimes I still don’t know how she did it – and I value it so much.
My siblings and I are very spread out, age wise. My oldest brother is 9 years older than me, then another brother who is 6 years older, and my sister is 6 years younger than me. My little sister never even remembers living in the same house as our older brother. By the time she was 3 years old he was in college out of state. But my mom, she was intentional. She was intentional about relationships. She wanted a close knit family despite our age differences.
Photo Credit: Jonathan Gibson Photography
Every night we ate dinner together. Despite activities and busy schedules, she was intentional and she adjusted and did what was necessary to make it happen. Sometimes, we ate late, sometimes early, but we ate together and I can only recall a handful of times that we didn’t. Oh and it wasn’t fast food or take out, it was a homemade meal, made in our kitchen, and eaten around our table.
Sundays were always family day. We always did something together. I can’t imagine trying to find an activity that would appeal to a teenager and a toddler. We went bowling a lot, went on bike rides, played outside. My mom gave us memories and family traditions, things that we now carry on with our own children. When my brothers were in college they called us every Sunday and talked to each of us, I’m sure they were not always interested in what me and my little sister had to say but they acted interested at least and it kept us close. We all responded and went along with my mom’s attempts to keep us close and keep us together. She had (and still does) have a way of keeping everyone together. We all miraculously still live in Cincinnati, even though there were job offers elsewhere. We celebrate holidays and birthdays together, our kids play together. It truly is a gift that my mom gave us and I am so thankful for her efforts because I am positive it wasn’t always easy.
Every day, I am grateful to my mom and all she has done and continues to do for us. It is an incredible gift of relationship and friendship she instilled in our family.