Grateful for My Mother's Love

Every year, I have the opportunity to reflect upon the love I have received from my mother. We rarely recall our early years; instead, other recount them to us. My father used to tell me about how nervous my mother was when as an infant, and I didn't gain any weight for the first 6 months. He would tell me about how many times a day she would weigh me to see if I had gained even an ounce or two. How funny that sounds as an adult when I have to be on the look out for excess weight, rather than worry about not gaining weight.

We change so much over the course of time, but one thing remains constant, the love we receive from our mothers. My mother has always been a hard worker, dedicated to any job or task that she undertakes. Like her, I find myself happiest when I am at work in the right way, busy making improvements in my life or those of others.

While my mother chose nursing, I chose teaching--both professions where women have historically made improvements to their lives and others: physically, emotionally, spiritually, and in an integrated manner.

This year, as I celebrate Mother's Day, I appreciate my mother's personal and professional vocations. She raised me to be a strong and capable woman, and to encourage the same interdependence in others.

My mother's days are busy caring for my father, now no longer capable of wheeling about in the house.  Both Mom (second from the right) and Aunt Lee (second from the left) were educated and worked in nursing. Pictured on the left is the newest mother in our family, Cousin Terri and her little girl Natalie (the youngest member of the Whiteside family) with Dad and Terri's sister Kellie on the right.