I Love My Mommy!

Disclaimer: This photo was taken before my weight loss surgery! :)

I love my mom. I have always loved my mom, of course, because she's well ... my MOM. But I haven't always been close to her. We never bonded the way I thought mothers & daughters should bond while I was living at home. Then I got married and moved 500 miles away and focused on my husband. Through the years, Mom & I maintained a good relationship, and we never had any major arguments or went months without speaking to each other. It was never a horrible relationship, it just wasn't a great one.
We grew a little closer after I had Logan, although I was disappointed that Mom & Dad didn't have more time for their only grandchild (at the time). Their singing schedule kept them busy, busy, busy. They did schedule him in on Thursday nights and would keep him from 6:00 to 9:00 on Thursdays every week. I just didn't feel that was enough, and I held that against them for a long time.
When Dad was sick, most of the burden of his care fell on Mom. Kristi & I helped as much as we could, but we both work full-time jobs and have our own small families to take care of. I saw a different side of Mom as she cared for Dad day in and day out, refusing to put him in a nursing home. She insisted he would stay at home unless it became medically necessary to move him. She spoon fed him, changed his diapers, clipped his nails, shaved him, brushed his teeth - it was like having another baby. She would get tired, of course, and frustrated at times, but she took care of him for 6 years, the last two when he was completely bedridden and helpless. She washed urine off of walls and out of carpet. She saw her husband of 44 years disappear before her eyes. And still she kept going. I don't know how she made it those last couple of years. She worked full-time and cared for Dad during the nights and weekends.
After Dad died, I spent months working through that in therapy. Missing him, wishing I could have had more conversations with him before his mind was gone, wondering how I would survive this world with just one parent. (I know, lots of people survive their parents' death, but it was new to me, okay?) I had always felt closer to my Dad than my Mom, and I just didn't know how I could move forward in my relationship with Mom.
It certainly tested me when Mom started dating again several months after Dad died. I couldn't believe it! Dating?!? How could she? I held my nose up in disdain! It didn't matter that he was very kind, a good Christian man, and treated Mom very well. It probably took me a good year to accept the fact that she needed a companion and that it did not diminish the love she had with my Dad.
After quite a bit of therapy, much prayer, and some very honest and difficult conversations with Mom, things have really changed over the last two years. I talk to her every day, and she is the first person I want when I am sick. She was at my bedside after both of my recent surgeries, and slept on the couch next to me to give Artie a break. She has become a great cheerleader for me, and I have become the close daughter I think she always wanted me to be. She was only 17 when she had me, and 21 when she had Kristi. It took a long time, but we finally have that close relationship that I always thought a mother & daughter should have. It's never too late to mend or work on a relationship. God can change hearts and work through things that on our own we could never resolve. I love my Mommy and I'm very thankful for the closeness we now share.