Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother’s Day to Moms everywhere!  What a privilege it has been, all of these years, to be a mother to my three kids.  Like every parent knows, it isn’t an easy job, but the rewards are numerous times greater than any hardship that we had.

I’ve often said that it has been a real pleasure getting to know our two younger kids, Paul and Addie, on the level of emerging adults.  Though they both left home to attend college, we still got to see them on breaks and summer vacations during those years.  Not so with Robert, as he left here at age nineteen, and moved a long ways away.  I felt that I had missed out on some parts of his life.  Going to Alaska last month gave me the chance to get to know him as the adult that he is now.  What a wonderful sight to see, my oldest son and his wife, living and working hard to make their dreams happen.  Like us, they are embracing the challenges before them, and enjoying the adventures that this current stage of life brings to them.

I’m also grateful to my own mother, and to Greg’s mom, for being superb role models for me. Had it not been for the conversation and observations through the years, I would not have known half as much about being a good parent. One last hats off, and that would be to Grandma Peggy.  Though she has been gone for several years now, I still remember and treasure the time that we had together, for she was the only grandmother that I knew in my adult years.  What a wonderful legacy to follow in her shoes.