Mom Jewelry

There was a time I would have said I would never be ok with Mother's Day. Thankfully, I have finally started to enjoy it over the past few years. I think it took seeing it as a day to honor my contributions as a mother rather than mostly celebrating my spouse's mom because my mom isn't here to celebrate. It's not like I wanted a big thing about me, I just struggled with the reminder that I couldn't celebrate with my mom and didn't have the chance to come to terms with that. 

This year, I decided to honor the mothers that helped shape me into who I am today by wearing jewelry that was either theirs in the past or that they had given me. 

To honor my mom, I wore her CTR ring. It's tarnished from sitting in my jewelry box for many years, but that's ok. I was able to think about the woman that gave me life and taught me that it is ok to be different and expect to be loved. I wish I had embraced this lesson earlier in life. 

To honor my former mother-in-law, I wore a bracelet she gave me a long time ago. This was a reminder of her unconditional love. She took me in and loved me when I needed a mother's love and didn't have a mother on earth to do so. I will forever be grateful for the example she set for me children and me. 

For my stepmother, I wore a necklace she gave me a few years ago. We had a rocky start, but she has always loved my children with all of her heart. Now, we get along well, and I see the strength she has in her to push through the many struggles she still faces on a daily basis. 

I hope to embody the lessons these wonderful women have taught me for the rest of my life. When people say, "You must have had a great mother." I can say, "I had three."

Foggy Memories

 

This morning, I drove Noel to school in dense fog. We get fog like this often in the spring and fall, and it brings a few memories to mind; one good and one bad. The first one happened when I was a teenager, and the second one was in 2018. 

As a teenager, I went to a class at church before school with my sister. One morning when we were driving, we had the worst fog I had ever driven in, and it was dark which complicated the situation. I was fairly inexperienced and quite scared. As we got closer the the church, I finally had something to fix my eyes on to help me get there, the taillights of one of the teachers. This was a real life lesson for me of the importance of following someone with the experience to get me through tough things. 

Then in 2018, we had a foggy morning a lot like today. As I drove to work I couldn’t help but think how dangerous it was to be out driving and said a little prayer in my head for my kids whom I had just dropped off at the bus stop. I am thankful to this day that the prayer was answered. It did not turn out that way for everyone, though. The following day I found out that a friend of mine was in an accident as she took her son to school. He died on the scene; her son died upon arrival at the hospital; one of her daughters died a few days later; and her youngest came out of it with a broken leg. Her poor husband had to say goodbye to his wife and two of his children while taking care of an 18 month old with broken bones. Had her son son not missed the bus or the road she normally would have taken not been closed or the fog not been so dense that she didn’t see that stop sign, they may still be here. Instead, we went to a funeral for a 29 year old mom and her 6 and 3 year old children. 

Fog is more powerful that we think. It can teach us life lessons and take away our friends. I will never forget the relief I felt as I followed those tail lights or the wonderful person and her children that were taken too soon.

***I was completely stopped when I took the pictures.***