Thanks, Mom.....for being home!

    Growing up, my mom stayed home with my sister and I. Her job was to raise us girls, which couldn't have been easy. We went to a Christian school and she worked one day a week as a teacher's aid to help with tuition. She was always there when we came home. On the rare occasion that mom was not at the house when we came through the door we were devastated! Why wasn't mom home? What is going on? Our world was turned upside down! One summer, my mom took a job a mile up the road at a quail farm. She wasn't gone very long each day, but I do know she was not home for lunch!! My mother is a tremendous cook! Growing up, all my friends would crowd the table hoping for her homemade pizza and home canned dill pickles. I would take my mom's cooking to school and sell it at lunch time. I could always make a sale and mom wondered why I always had a little money to spend. She is famous for her yeast rolls and at any family gathering she is expected to bring those along with her homemade butter. Everything we ate growing up was homemade. We never ate anything from a mix! Thank-you mom! Because of this, my sister and I cook from scratch and we both can our food every year. I can remember shelves lined with canned food all ready for a long cold winter. Applesauce was a favorite and the strawberry jam mistake was the best! The strawberry jam did not jell as it should have, but instead turned out to be a thick sauce perfect for topping ice cream. Yum! Best mistake ever! I still replicate this mistake every year. Mom's garden has always been the best and still is! She works for hours every day, all summer, weeding and tilling. All summer long we ate fresh from the garden.

     In the summer, mom would let us roam our 175 acre farm. I would rise in the morning and gobble down a homemade breakfast and then I was off! I loved the adventure of the woods. My mom's very loud whistle was the sign that it was time to return. I could hear that whistle from a mile away! We all wished we could whistle like mom. She let us be kids and wander and explore. We learned a lot from this. Independence, curiosity, and a love for nature. An education from nature is invaluable. 

    My mom and dad sacrificed a lot for us. We didn't have any money, but I didn't even realize it! Each summer, before school would start, my mom would always take us to this huge sidewalk sale at a local small business. We returned home with bags full of brand new clothing. She never paid more than a few dollars for clothes, but I can remember my excitement. At the grocery store she tripled coupons and came home with food for nearly free! Sometimes they paid her to take it! She was an extreme couponer before it was cool. Some days after school, for a special treat, she would take us into the old general store in our small town. We could pick out penny candy from behind a glass case. We took our time and used great thought in selecting our ten pieces  That is only twenty cents, but to a child it was a treat that we excitedly looked forward to. She stretched our money and we never knew the difference. 

    Mom never had time for herself back then, but now we have begun to be adventurous. A few years ago, my mom and I, along with my niece, started taking a clogging class. We now can actually dance, and we perform at country fairs and events with our dance group during the summer. She so enjoys this and it's a fun hobby to participate in together. 

    We loved having mom at home. A stay at home mom is a big job! Moms shape youngsters into the human beings that they will be for life. Stability and consistency are learned when you come home to mom every day. A light always on in the window, and the smell of a home cooked meal dancing in the air was the norm. This is what I hope to give my boys throughout their life with me. So, on this Mother's Day, thanks mom.....for being home!