Mothers

What is a mother?

1) the female parent of a child, 2) one who bears children, 3) one who raises, influences, cares for, loves and nurtures a child or children.

When I think about what shaped me into the mother that I am, I reflect on those mothers in my life and my history. Of course my mom, was and is a huge influence in my life, but there are others who helped to mother me. When you take the best of what your mom has to offer, one can’t help but know that they took the best from their mothers too, so who I am goes back to those mothers in my family history. I think we also take a little bit from all the mothers who we come in contact with too. So my friend’s moms, grandmothers, and my mother in law have also influenced me.

My grandmothers: Grace Flynn and Lucile Booher influenced their children and me when I had the opportunity to spend time with each of them. My gramma Grace was a quiet strength who kept a very clean house, had beautiful roses and always made sure her family was fed before her. Gramma Booher a more vocal woman who kept a tidy house that was filled with the materials to make anything. They grew an enormous garden and fruit trees, she bottled food. She taught me it is important to spend time with family. She drove and always made sure we had time with Gramma Grace who didn’t drive. Because of her example, I did my best to make sure my children got the chance to know their only living great grandparents.

These are Troy’s grandparents: Bob and Dorothy Herrin. When we lived in Vegas, I would take my kids: Cody, Shantel and Savanna over every Wednesday for lunch with Nana and Papa and then we would stay and visit and play with them for an hour or two. I’m not sure if they remember, but I do, and I tell them. Cody and Shantel remember playing with the toys that they had. Toys that their dad played with when he was little. Toys that their kids can play with when they come to visit at great grandma and grandpa Keiser’s. Nana took me under her wing and taught me the love crafting things. She would take me to the craft day at church, helped me make cards and shared her knowledge with me.

My in laws: Bob and Mary Keiser, live close and they help and teach and influence me and my children in many ways. We share recipes, tips on crocheting, she has helped me tie a quilt, taught Shantel to sew. She teaches and influences as she can, we take what we need from that.

My mom, Myrna Flynn, what can I say about this woman? She is amazing, strong, determined, independent, faithful, patient, bold, she is a fixer. She has taught me to be strong, independent, confident, to cook, and bake. She taught me to have fun, to enjoy life, that you are only as old as you feel, that I can do anything, and not to stress too much. She had 8 single births and has 34 grandchildren and almost 7 great grandchildren.

She is the one I call when I need to talk, to complain, to ask how to do this or that. She will do all she can to help those she loves. She is not huggy and kissy and she doesn’t get to emotional, but you know where you stand with her. She is not perfect but she is my mom and I would not be the person I am without her influence and that influence that has trickled down from her mom and all the moms that shaped her and her mom and her mom and so on back in time.

I hope that my daughters and daughters in law can take all the good that the moms in their lives can give and become the best moms they can be. That they can see how each generation has something to offer, something that they can take and make their own and pass that on to their children and keep the cycle moving and growing and ever learning.