we should do this more often.

i'd like to talk about the lady with me in this picture, since it is mother's day :)
this year has most definitely been full of firsts, and to top it off this will be my first mother's day away from her.. which means i leave it all to my dad and younger siblings to take care of things- SCARY!
kidding, they'll do fine. plus, she's low maintenance. that's number one on a long list of why i love her. she doesn't ask for much, and yet i often still can't deliver.
but, she always forgives me for that. reason number two she's the best. i'm very stubborn and hate to be the one to give in during a fight, and she understands that even if i feel bad it takes a lot for me to back down, but she always is humble enough to throw in the towel and let me think i won.
today when i was at my cousin claire's baptism they had the mother's go up with their podium and tell about their daughters- their favorite primary song, scripture story, general and random things about them, and why they love Christ. as i sat their, trying to hold back the tears (i'm a cry baby when it comes to church stuff, but i am realllly good at holding it in to a certain extent.) i thought about all the good things they were saying. obviously, everyone has their bad qualities, but it made me think about mothers in general. yes, they see the best and the worst of their kids, but there is something so unique about mothers. i think its true that they feel the closest to the love our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ feel for us. they see it all, and they appreciate it all. when i think about it, my mom's been through a lot with me, it's a wonder she still loves me. yeah, that might be a little dramatic, but that's number three- she loves me, ALL of me.
reason number four happened this weekend. i've been hoping to get a couple friends from south dakota out to utah for the lake powell experience. its my favorite vacation and both sides of the family have houseboats and we thought this could be the year to show them what lake powell's all about. however, we had some complications, but my mom had it solved in like an hour. okay this is two reasons. four is she fixes my problems, and five she does it fast enough to satisfy my impatient self. instead of letting me just complain, or be bummed when thing don't work out, she simply fixes the problem before i even have a chance.
number five- she is the reason i could do so much in high school. she was, in plain words, my assistant. if i forgot something at home, she brought it to school. if the student council needed a dessert made for something, she made it. if i forgot to wash my jersey, she washed it and delivered it. you get the picture. she's there for me.
now, i could go on, and give you lots more reasons why. i've enjoyed being apart from her this year. i know it sounds weird, but distance makes the heart grow stronger right? she was a good high school mom, but she's an even better college mom. she has the solutions to all my new problems and the wisdom right when i need it.
oh yeah. and now she has a droid. i told her to play words with friends with me. she said "i'm not sure what that is, you'll have to show me how in florida." haha. love her. anyways.
i feel like she's always trying to be a better mother for me.. turn in to who she thinks i expect her to be, which is my fault because of my high expectations and often harsh criticism. but really, i love her just the way she is. she doesn't try to be like some of the other moms, the high maintence ones, because she's too busy devoting her life to her kids for that. anything we're involved in, she's involved in. she's the one going to the games, taking us to seminary, editing our papers, etc.

the moral of the story is..
its mothers day, and i'm not in south dakota.
and there is nothing in the mail for my mom, not even a card.
(cue classic line- i don't want a gift, just help clean up today or let me take a nap.. aw the simple things in life to my mom.)
so hopefully this will buy me a little more time. i need every minute.

my mother has helped me achieve anything great that's ever happened to me. our year of firsts have been hard on me, but even harder on her. she sent her daughter off for the summer (and ideally off to college), then unexpectedly lost her father who was one of the most amazing people in the world, and lost her grandmother. on top of that, there's a ton of other super complicated things in between, my dad's church calling and job often make her a single mother, and she has five kids who are all over the place due to school, sports, music, and other activities.

anywayssss. happy mother's day to all the mama's around. especially those that are mine, real or fake. my grandmothers, danielles, aunts, jodis, teachers.. all those who have been that motherly influence when i needed it.