My Mom

When my oldest sister, Alicia, was only nine months old my mom, dad and her were in a very serious car accident leaving a few dead in the other car and my dad, Michael, paralyzed. Hearing that your husband would never walk again might have broken many women but not her. She, against many odds, gave birth to two more daughters, financially put my dad thru Utah State, working jobs that were less than glamorous all the while filling in the ‘father role’ that my dad was now unable to fill making sure her three daughters knew how to fish, hunt and throw a baseball. Looking back on my childhood I now realize that we probably weren't extremely well off  but I never felt that way. It never did occur to me how much my mom went without things she needed to make sure her kids could have things they wanted. My mom made sure that every birthday and holiday was special. She made sure we all felt special, not just her kids but every kid that she met; always making sure our home was a place that any of our neighbor or school friends felt more than welcome.

Around twenty years after that accident my dad passed away and once again my mom led the family with her amazing amount of strength. A while later she remarried a man that not only do her daughters love but someone who I know my dad, Michael, would completely respect. For the last 15 years my mom has subbed at the local Jr. High almost full time, impacting the lives of so many kids that she has came in contact with. Because she always was amazing at making sure her own kids felt unique and important she has excelled doing the same for the kids she teaches and is recognized and greeted by these kids long after their time in the junior high.

She is a grandma now to eight grandkids ranging from a fifteen year old to a three year old and every holiday she puts together a personal and unique gift for each of them. She also realizes that her presence is just as important as her presents and she has not missed one soccer game, dance recital, karate showcase and puts together grandkid slumber parties at her house.

I personally have had some trials in my life and I can say without a doubt that without my mom on my side I would not have made it thru them. As a single mom sometimes it has been hard to figure the whole mom business and my mom has been by my side the entire way, even spending a month at my house sleeping on a air mattress when my daughter was first born to help when I was recovering from surgery. 

People often tell me I look just like her and I like to believe that the best parts about me are things that she passed on to me. She taught me that tough times don't last but tough people do, if you know my mom you know that she is hands down one of the toughest women out there. She reminded me daily that 'it is nice to be important but more important to be nice'... while I typed that I could hear her voice saying that. She has always tried to pass the 'kill them with kindness' motto on to me when I have butted heads with people; I am still working on that one.. easier said that done. She has always been on my team and my number one cheerleader. She loved me even when I wasn't a very lovable person. On top of all of what she has done for me she has done so much for my own daughter in the past three years. Boston will choose her grandma over anyone and everyone no matter the time and place. I will never be able to put into the proper words to adequately describe how much she has done for me but in the words of Abraham Lincoln, “All that I am, or hope to be, I owe to my angel mother.”

XO:Ashlynn&Boston
BRONSON