I've been doing this “Mom” thing for 22 years now…
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| Me and Kaylie |
When I became a mom back on March 24, 1989, I didn’t know what the heck I was doing. Poor Kaylie – she was a guinea pig in my learn-as-you-go world of motherhood. I made mistakes, as we all do. But seriously, somewhere along the way I had to do something right; because Kaylie has grown up to be this amazing, caring, loving, strong, determined, capable, beautiful woman. (I have so many more adjectives but I figured I should tone it down a bit, ha!)
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| Kaylie (center) with high school girlfriends |
From the start, Kaylie was confident, a leader, and a nonconformist. I remember when she was in 5th grade she came home from school PIZZED. She told me she was playing with a group of girls on the playground, and another little girl wanted to join in. These two “stupid girls” in the group told her she couldn’t play with them because her “clothes didn’t match.” (This little girl wore hand-me-downs in pretty bad shape – the family was struggling.) Kaylie told those two “popular” girls that they were NOT the boss of the group, and then told the little girl to “come on, we’ll go play something else,” and walked off. A few other girls walked off with her/them. THAT’S my Kaylie… standing up for what’s right, not worrying about what anyone will think, never EVER shutting up when a wrong is being done to someone. I often wonder if that little girl remembers that day. I’m not even sure Kaylie does. But I do … I’ll never forget it. Sitting in the living room listening to her tell me this story – the passion in her eyes, the anger in her voice, the confidence she had, never once thinking how it could have outcasted HER from the “popular group” … it was one of my proudest moments as a mom.
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| Kerri, huggin' on her Mama |
She is a mother herself now, and every time I see her in mommy-action I think… She’s a much better mom than I ever was at that age. How’d she get so good at it so quickly? Just a few minutes around her daughter, Kerri (have I mentioned I have the most beautiful grand-angel in the world?), and it’s easy to see that this baby is happy, healthy, LOVED, and well on her way to becoming an incredible woman, just like her Mama.
Kaylie - you are the light in my life and I love you more than you'll ever know. ~Mom
Love is what you make it, and you rolled up your sleeves and Really got to work. A healty family comes from a strong Mom :] Good job.
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Thank you!
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