With Mother's Day only one day away, I would like to take this opportunity to shine a light on my mom, Vickie Lynn Hopp Carter. Good Old Vickie hasn't always had it so easy. When my brothers and I were little, my Dad was out railroading and was gone a lot. Mom was home flying solo with three wild kids (well, two wild kids and me). Of course, at the time I had no idea what a challenge that could be and I would guess I had no idea because Mom never made it a big deal. Being a mother now, I realize how very much work it must have been for her. Virtually all of the cooking, shopping, bathing, consoling, mediating, entertaining and tucking in-ing fell on Mom's shoulders while Dad was out bringing home the bacon. Extraordinary but most extraordinary is the fact that it was done seamlessly, without complaint and always with love. I know personally, I tend to get the slightest bit edgy (to say the least~I'm working on it, OK?!) if Jason is late getting home from work. I cannot imagine him being away days and nights on end. But that was Mom's life and she lived it happily and allowed us to grow up confident that we could always count on her.
Mom didn't have it easy during our teenage years either. (Good job Jeremy and Josh~you could have been a little less naughty!) But again, there she stood; strong but caring through the ups and downs. I am certain there wasn't one single volleyball game, gymnastics meet, choir concert, baseball game, play, or band concert that Mom wasn't sitting front and center (because she was always there about 3 hours early). And again, never once complaining of how tedious it was or how she had no time to herself. She was there because she wanted to be and because we needed her to be, without question and without fail.
I am happy to say that in our adulthood, my brothers and I have not been quite as much work for Mom. But even so, still today she's been there every single time I have needed her for anything; births of children, emergency appendectomies, babysitting so we can go to the Railroad Days beer gardens, you know, the important stuff. As a mother myself now and an adult(technically speaking), my Mom and I share an stronger and closer relationship than ever. I can (and do) call her frequently with questions, for advice or just to chat. She answers her phone every single time (mostly) even though she has caller ID and knows exactly what she may be getting herself into. More than ever, I look forward to summer vacations, holidays and weekends in STJ~all because I love spending time with Mom (and Dad too, OK, but this isn't about you, Dad!)
There were days (and nights) that I was a challenge. I made Mom work to earn her title as World's Best Mom. It's easy to say that as a mom she just didn't have the option of giving up on me and as a child/teenager I was so arrogant to think she had no choice but to love me. However, I know differently now. There are parents who give up. There are parents who just do the bare minimum and send their kids off the first chance they get. There are parents who make their children aware of every sacrifice and every imposition. Mom did have a choice and she choose to love us with all her heart. She choose to fill our lives with happiness, security and the ease of life little children deserve but are often not afforded. It is because of this that I can be who I am today. I can love because I was loved. What a beautiful gift.
Thank you and Happy Mother's Day, Mom~my unsung hero!
"A mother is a person who seeing there are only four pieces of pie for five people promptly announces she never did care for pie."~Tenneva Jordan
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