Happy Mother's Day!

Day 190

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!

I am blessed to have not just one but a multitude of mothers help and guide me throughout my life and I know that my life would not be the same without their loving influence. So I thought it would be fun to look back through my life and celebrate those mothers that have been a part of my life and share some small memories.

Of course my mom has been the biggest motherly influence in my life. But that shouldn't surprise anyone, I am talking about one of the best moms in the world. There was a time in my life when it was just the two of us and I wouldn't give that up for anything. My mom has always supported me in whatever I was doing and the best part is that she knew me personally and knew how to respond to me. My mom never pushed me into anything and that is because she knew I would not respond positively to that. My mom and I are a lot alike and it is great that I have someone that I can talk to that understands me. I have many fond memories of my mom which I covered already with her birthday post last December.

But one memory that I would like to share was going on road trips with her. We both basically liked the same music (but I was not a fan of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons but it was her car) and we used to hit the road and sing along with Queen, Fleetwood Mac, Styx, Traveling Wilbury's and the Fat Boys while cruising. I remember one trip we took to Rigby to visit Aunt Julie and the Case family. The drive is not that far but this trip was a little harrowing. It was snowing like nothing else and it was coming down pretty hard and fast. At first we didn't mind since my mom is an excellent driver and was used to winter driving. The roads were clear for the moment so we drove on. But the closer we got to Rigby the worse it got. Soon the roads were starting to collect snow and then soon after that we were all driving in one lane and you could barely see the tire tracks of the traffic ahead. At one point we were not driving very fast at all but my mom remained calm and said, "We will just follow the big rig ahead of us and we'll be alright." And then that truck disappeared and we started to panic. Well, I started to panic, if mom was panicking I would have no idea. She remained cool and calm. A few minutes later we caught up to that truck. It had jack-knifed and had crashed off the side of the road. We both looked at each other and we realized that we were too far to turn around and we were on our own. So my mom asked me to watch for road signs because we were getting close to Rigby. I took this assignment seriously. Whenever any sign came into view I yelled it out. "THIS SIGN SAYS MILE 328 SO WE DON'T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT IT!"

I am surprised that my mom stayed so cool without reaching over and smacking me to shut me up. But then she couldn't afford to take one hand off the wheel. I guess I am lucky. But that shows you what kind of mom I have. One that takes matters into her own hands if needed and leads silently and calmly. I hope I learned this quality from her. Thanks mom! I love and appreciate all that you have done for me and my family.

But my mom didn't do it alone. Whenever I was away I had other moms to help look out for me.

I was fortunate to live with my Grandma Anhder for about nine months before my mom and I moved into our own home. Grandma always had some sort of snack for me when I came home and always wanted to know how my day at school was. She never complained about me listening to my music loudly downstairs and always supported me in what I did. It must have been hard to have my mom and I live with them but I would have never known. They accepted and loved me for who I was and that was enough. Grandma wrote me weekly while I was on my mission in New York. I could always count on a letter from her.

I had a ton of mothers in my family to help me out and encourage me. My aunts were always interested in what I was doing and always had words of encouragement. My Aunt Julie has always supported me and I have always felt that I was special and one of her favorite nephews. I remember one time she was visiting from Colorado and her and my mom were going to visit Great-Grandma Maughan and Aunt Julie invited me to go along. I didn't expect to go at all and I was pleased and proud that she wanted me to come along and share that time with them. My Aunt Margo has always supported my love for art and always encouraged me to practice my talent. No matter what, I can always count on getting a homemade birthday card from her. It is such a small gesture but one that makes a huge difference. My Aunt Barbara has always taken interest in me and what I am up to. She wrote me while I was serving my mission and got her kids to send me letters as well. Again, a small gesture that really cheered and lifted me up. Those cards and letters meant a lot. Aunt Lesa helped me out a ton of times while I was in high school. I remember she got me a leather jacket to use (it was her brother's) so I could look good at a 50's dance. If I ever needed anything she was a call away.

My friend's moms helped me stay on the straight and narrow while growing up and helped right up till I got married. My friend Damond's mom was always asking about me when I would go over to her house. And it wasn't just chit-chat either. She would sometimes sit down with Damond and I and talk. She helped with planning dates and always told me what she thought of my date when she would get to meet them. What I appreciated about her the most was that her home was open to me. I felt like I was family and I felt like she treated me as family. She made sure I was fed and there were a couple of occasions that she would correct me if she felt I was not acting the way I should. My friends Joel and Lared had moms like this. Joel's mom made sure that I was going to USU (when I got off my mission) by telling me to get an education and that it was okay to stay single for awhile. She also would see me around town and would stop to chat instead of either waving or ignoring me completely. I was always impressed that she remembered me since I was not at her home a lot. Lared's mom also made sure that I was going down the right path. I remember one night Lared and I returned to his house and we had these toy guns that shot plastic discs. We crashed into his home and shot everyone we saw while they were kneeling down together in prayer. I about died from embarrassment so I took off. Then I heard his mom say "You better get back here Matt. We just started and I expect you to kneel with us!" So I did. Afterwards she really took it to both Lared and I about respect and reverence.

On my LDS mission I made a lot of friends and close relationships but I also had a few moms there to take care of me. I had other people watching over me that I became very close to but that was more friendship than anything else. But some were mothers first and friends second. Mama Lopez, Nicole, Beverly, Judy, Sister Child and Maria were ones that offered me a mother's shoulder for help. It was nice having so many moms in New York when I was so far away from mine.

Now I am blessed to have another mom in my life aside from my own. Kristy's mom Colleen takes care of me like I was one of her own. I hear horror stories from friends about not getting along with in-laws. Some of my friends cannot believe that I call my mother-in-law "mom" and not by Colleen (unless I am trying to get her attention!). But I am glad that I have this mom in my life. She always willing to help and does so much for me and my family. She is a hoot to be around too! I remember one time we went to a movie and she came with us. We went and saw Minority Report and during the previews we saw one about a comedy and the preview showed them making fun of this person who had a mole and they kept saying "mole" to this person. Mom thought it wasn't nice (even though she was laughing) and said we shouldn't make fun of people with moles. Such a mother thing to say right? But then halfway through the movie some actor came on screen that had a mole and suddenly we hear Colleen blurt out "Mole!" as she pointed to the screen. We all cracked up. The best thing about Colleen is that she has taught her children well. Kristy is a lot like her and that is not a bad thing at all.

Even though Kristy is not my mom, she is a great mom to my son Logan. She is always willing to help and play with Logan. She has much more patience with him than I do. And she can laugh at all the dorky things he does.

I am blessed with having my mom, Colleen and Kristy as mothers in my life now and I have been blessed all my life with having excellent moms.

Thanks Mom(s)!

I want to wish every mom out there a Happy Mother's Day! You guys definitely deserve more than one day as recognition. But if we men gave you another day, the world would go to pot!