Momma

There are several women who hold a special place in my heart...loving grandmothers, a stepmother, a woman who has been like a second mother to me and, of course, my wonderful mother in-laws. But no one can take the place of my momma. We all think that our moms are the best...but there is no arguing that my mom is way up there on the Best Mom's list. In fact, I almost submitted her name to Regis & Kelly for their special Mother's Day show...but being the procrastinator that I am...I waited too long.

Let me explain...my boys' grandma was a young, single mom. She had the daunting task of raising two children on her own while she worked full-time. At times, she struggled to provide us with the temporal items of life...like food and shelter but she always had an abundance of love to give.

To this day, she has been a devoted listener...she, unfortunately, gave birth to a very chatty daughter who can rack up a long distance bill like no other. My first year of college, I decided to go to BYU in Hawaii. I suffered from terrible homesickness and so would call my mother frequently. I did not realize until much later in life how much those phone calls cost my mother. Not once did she cut our phone calls short or mention how expensive the calls were. Some months, I think the bill was more than my tuition payment!

When I became engaged, I was very particular about the kind of dress I wanted. I found my dream dress in a magazine and, of course, it was not in our budget. Mom offered to have the dress made for me, which because of the material, still cost more than we expected. She did not
once complain about the costs and little did I know, she was using an entire paycheck to pay for the dress. I guess I was quite selfish but just didn't figure it out until I had children of my own.

Mom endulged me throughout my life, even though she, herself, was going without. I will forever be grateful to her for the sacrifices she made to raise me and brother so that we never went without.

Mom, I love you and appreciate all that you have taught me. YOU ARE THE BEST!

The boys agree, however, that you're an even better grandma!