On the Subject of Mothers, Specifically Mine
To me, it seems quite fitting that my first post in this blog--the "rebirth" of my online journal, if you will indulge me with the phrase-- falls on Mother's Day. With my first new entry, I celebrate my own mother. She's awesome!
My mom was born in Chicago a little more than a half-century ago, and spent a good amount of her childhood migrating back and forth between that city and her family's Tennessee homeland. (I don't see harm in vaguely disclosing her age, as she herself revels in her collection of years gone by. My mom is special that way, and it's one reason I love her so much) Her time both in the city at what she terms an "experimental elementary school" and her time in rural Tennessee with the matriarchs of her family taught her the value of diversity among people and the importance of acceptance and tolerance of the differences of others. She gained a love for nature, a strong sense of faith, and a collection of wonderful heirloom recipes. She lived on one of the many small man-made lakes in eastern Tennessee, and attended a now-closed military high school as one of the first class of female students allowed to do so.
My mom was the first person in her family ever to go to college. She began with the intent to become a veterinarian, but found that her life was meant to take a different direction and became a nurse. Specifically, she was a traveling neurological trauma nurse. She spent years crisscrossing the USA, working in the intensive care wards of different hospitals. In one of her stays in a Texas town, a fellow nurse dared her to write to a young farmer who had been featured in a magazine. She was his pen-pal for a little more than a year, marrying him in December of 1989. Suffice it to say, she stopped traveling and made Texas her home. (There apparently was an old joke between her and one of her grandmothers, that the two of them would someday run away to Texas... the grandmother never came here, but my mom loves telling that story)
My mom found herself spending the next twenty years in a small farming community in one of the most rural areas of Texas. She raised two children, me and my younger brother, homeschooling both of us through a distance education program from 2001 onwards. She also dealt with a menagerie of cows, cats, dogs, beta fish, hermit crabs, and local wildlife living in and around her house. She was a first responder and Paramedic, and for a long time the local cotton gin had her phone number posted on their bulletin board in case of emergencies, many of which she worked to remedy as they occurred. She also helped on the farm when needed, mostly teaching my father that tame cattle were easier to work with.
Meanwhile, starting in 1995, she founded and continues to run a non-profit organization dedicated to furthering the cause of health and wholeness both in our community and in the country at large. She went back to school, getting a BSN from Texas Tech University, a MSN in Parish Nursing from Saint Joseph's College of Maine, and is now working towards her Doctorate in Ministry in Global Health and Wholeness from Saint Paul School of Theology. My mom became a Parish Nurse Educator, and teaches classes for Parish Nurses and Health Advocates across the country. (My brother and I help her by being her "road crew" for those classes.) She also speaks nationally on a variety of other topics, including stress relief, journal therapy, and disaster relief and preparation. She is the Parish Nurse consultant for the Northwest Texas Conference of the United Methodist Church, as well as the national Parish Nurse consultant for UMCOR-Health. (United Methodist Committee on Relief) As a part of her doctoral studies, she'll be going on a medical mission trip to Liberia this summer.
My mother is also a writer, and has found inspiration in many things throughout her life. In addition to her writing for UMCOR-Health and the International Parish Nurse Resource Center, she has had a short story from her hospital days called "Memories of Polo" published in the book Chicken Soup for the Nurse's Soul: Second Dose. She also recently self-published a guided journal workbook for nurses, health advocates, and anyone else interested in spiritual journaling. (That book, "Spiritual Reflections Journal for Nurses and Health Advocates" can be found for sale on amazon.com here ) She has a lot of other great stories in progress, too, and those will likely become published works in the near future.
Now that I've told you who my mom is, I'd like to tell you some of the things I've learned from her over the years. What follows are the things my mom says, and what they mean to me.
"Learn from my mistakes! I've made plenty, you can make original ones if you want." My mom has always been candid with me, telling me the things she's done wrong through her life and helping me to avoid making the same ones. She's taught me to value the experiences of the people who've gone before me, and to explore their wisdom before trying to "reinvent the wheel".
"White, black, or purple-with-pink-polka-dots, it's all the same under the skin." My mom passed on her values of "colorblindness", of the joys of diversity and the necessity of seeing people as nothing more than people. From her, I've learned to see people who are different from myself as fellow humans, and to enjoy their company.
"Do what you can with what you have, God provides what's needed." My mom raised us to be able to do great things with practically nothing, a skill she honed while running the nonprofit she started. From her, I've learned to make do with what is provided, and not to long for more and better resources. She taught me to have faith that my true needs will be met, no matter how hopeless the situation might look to anyone else.
"Don't stop laughing, or loving, or appreciating the gift of life." My mom has taught me to find joy in stress, to smile through adversity, and to laugh at my own failings and the absurdity of the world. She's taught me to appreciate the blessings in my life, to deal with attacking "dragons", and to let myself relax when I get frustrated.
"Never say no to God! That's just asking for Him to push you harder into the right direction to follow his plan." I've watched time after time as my mom finds her self "thumped on the head" and directed to do something she never thought she'd do. The part of watching that that's made the greatest impression on me has been seeing her laugh about it, tickled beyond anything that she's once again being forcibly lead down the path she's meant to walk. From my mother, I've learned to let the Lord guide my life, and not to stress over planning out my life. She's taught me to enjoy the journey.
All in all, my mom is an amazing, talented woman with a beautiful spirit and a heart that never stops giving. She's made me who I am, and taught me things I don't think I'd have learned without her. If anything, I hope I'll live up to her example and make her proud to have raised me.
I love you, mom!
My mom was born in Chicago a little more than a half-century ago, and spent a good amount of her childhood migrating back and forth between that city and her family's Tennessee homeland. (I don't see harm in vaguely disclosing her age, as she herself revels in her collection of years gone by. My mom is special that way, and it's one reason I love her so much) Her time both in the city at what she terms an "experimental elementary school" and her time in rural Tennessee with the matriarchs of her family taught her the value of diversity among people and the importance of acceptance and tolerance of the differences of others. She gained a love for nature, a strong sense of faith, and a collection of wonderful heirloom recipes. She lived on one of the many small man-made lakes in eastern Tennessee, and attended a now-closed military high school as one of the first class of female students allowed to do so.
My mom was the first person in her family ever to go to college. She began with the intent to become a veterinarian, but found that her life was meant to take a different direction and became a nurse. Specifically, she was a traveling neurological trauma nurse. She spent years crisscrossing the USA, working in the intensive care wards of different hospitals. In one of her stays in a Texas town, a fellow nurse dared her to write to a young farmer who had been featured in a magazine. She was his pen-pal for a little more than a year, marrying him in December of 1989. Suffice it to say, she stopped traveling and made Texas her home. (There apparently was an old joke between her and one of her grandmothers, that the two of them would someday run away to Texas... the grandmother never came here, but my mom loves telling that story)
My mom found herself spending the next twenty years in a small farming community in one of the most rural areas of Texas. She raised two children, me and my younger brother, homeschooling both of us through a distance education program from 2001 onwards. She also dealt with a menagerie of cows, cats, dogs, beta fish, hermit crabs, and local wildlife living in and around her house. She was a first responder and Paramedic, and for a long time the local cotton gin had her phone number posted on their bulletin board in case of emergencies, many of which she worked to remedy as they occurred. She also helped on the farm when needed, mostly teaching my father that tame cattle were easier to work with.
Meanwhile, starting in 1995, she founded and continues to run a non-profit organization dedicated to furthering the cause of health and wholeness both in our community and in the country at large. She went back to school, getting a BSN from Texas Tech University, a MSN in Parish Nursing from Saint Joseph's College of Maine, and is now working towards her Doctorate in Ministry in Global Health and Wholeness from Saint Paul School of Theology. My mom became a Parish Nurse Educator, and teaches classes for Parish Nurses and Health Advocates across the country. (My brother and I help her by being her "road crew" for those classes.) She also speaks nationally on a variety of other topics, including stress relief, journal therapy, and disaster relief and preparation. She is the Parish Nurse consultant for the Northwest Texas Conference of the United Methodist Church, as well as the national Parish Nurse consultant for UMCOR-Health. (United Methodist Committee on Relief) As a part of her doctoral studies, she'll be going on a medical mission trip to Liberia this summer.
My mother is also a writer, and has found inspiration in many things throughout her life. In addition to her writing for UMCOR-Health and the International Parish Nurse Resource Center, she has had a short story from her hospital days called "Memories of Polo" published in the book Chicken Soup for the Nurse's Soul: Second Dose. She also recently self-published a guided journal workbook for nurses, health advocates, and anyone else interested in spiritual journaling. (That book, "Spiritual Reflections Journal for Nurses and Health Advocates" can be found for sale on amazon.com here ) She has a lot of other great stories in progress, too, and those will likely become published works in the near future.
Now that I've told you who my mom is, I'd like to tell you some of the things I've learned from her over the years. What follows are the things my mom says, and what they mean to me.
"Learn from my mistakes! I've made plenty, you can make original ones if you want." My mom has always been candid with me, telling me the things she's done wrong through her life and helping me to avoid making the same ones. She's taught me to value the experiences of the people who've gone before me, and to explore their wisdom before trying to "reinvent the wheel".
"White, black, or purple-with-pink-polka-dots, it's all the same under the skin." My mom passed on her values of "colorblindness", of the joys of diversity and the necessity of seeing people as nothing more than people. From her, I've learned to see people who are different from myself as fellow humans, and to enjoy their company.
"Do what you can with what you have, God provides what's needed." My mom raised us to be able to do great things with practically nothing, a skill she honed while running the nonprofit she started. From her, I've learned to make do with what is provided, and not to long for more and better resources. She taught me to have faith that my true needs will be met, no matter how hopeless the situation might look to anyone else.
"Don't stop laughing, or loving, or appreciating the gift of life." My mom has taught me to find joy in stress, to smile through adversity, and to laugh at my own failings and the absurdity of the world. She's taught me to appreciate the blessings in my life, to deal with attacking "dragons", and to let myself relax when I get frustrated.
"Never say no to God! That's just asking for Him to push you harder into the right direction to follow his plan." I've watched time after time as my mom finds her self "thumped on the head" and directed to do something she never thought she'd do. The part of watching that that's made the greatest impression on me has been seeing her laugh about it, tickled beyond anything that she's once again being forcibly lead down the path she's meant to walk. From my mother, I've learned to let the Lord guide my life, and not to stress over planning out my life. She's taught me to enjoy the journey.
All in all, my mom is an amazing, talented woman with a beautiful spirit and a heart that never stops giving. She's made me who I am, and taught me things I don't think I'd have learned without her. If anything, I hope I'll live up to her example and make her proud to have raised me.
I love you, mom!