Mommy Dearest

As a Sociology major and a sometimes avid volunteer, I have seen my share of family situations. Learning about the family in my upper-division Sociology classes sometimes left me feeling hopeless. Studying about divorce rates, single moms, abandoned children, broken homes, abuse, poverty, abortion, and on and on, I have at times begun to feel like there is no one left in this world that values the idea of a loving and stable family.

Then I realize how ridiculous it is for me to feel that way.

I was given the best family in the entire world, and especially the best mother. I never had to walk home from the bus stop into an empty house. Whenever I got sick, my mom was the one picking me up from the office at school. During the summer she would jump on the trampoline with the sprinkler under it, and during the winter she helped us build the perfect sledding trails. Our mom was not a "stay-at-home" mom. She was out with us constantly, letting us fulfill every crazy dream, from dancing to plays to soccer to violin to swimming lessons, and All of my childhood is bursting with memories of love and kindness. I have never heard my mother yell, and I have only been spanked one time that I can remember. And believe me, I deserved it much more than that.

My mother is not only wonderful to her children, but to every person around her. I have never seen her pass up an opportunity to serve. Where many people would overlook someone in need, my mom seeks them out. I have seen her ease people's burdens, and give genuine, unselfish love in places it was never experienced before. Even though her own life has seen heartache, trouble, and need, her ability to give no matter how little she has is miraculous. Her faith through every trial has constantly made mine stronger.

David O. Mckay said,
"Motherhood is the greatest potential influence either for good or ill in human life. The mother's image is the first that stamps itself on the unwritten page of the young child's mind. It is her caress that first awakens a sense of security; her kiss, the first realization of affection; her sympathy and tenderness, the first assurance that there is love in the world."

There is a song we used to sing in church when I was little that goes, "Mother I love you, mother I do. Father in heaven has sent me to you. When I am near you, I love to hear you, singing so softly that you love me too."

Mom, I could never be grateful enough that I was sent to you.