My First (almost) Mothers' Day

So I know most people don't say it counts until you have an outside baby, but this Mothers' Day has got me to thinking. Even though all I can do with my baby right now is feel it wiggle and kick like it's practising Billy Blanks, or eat healthy foods, or talk to it (apparently, Piggly Wiggly's ear bones are forming up now at the 16-week mark), I'm still a mom. That said, my Mothers' Day thought has been that I want to be as good a mom to this baby as all the amazing women in my life who raised me. (Though there are a few men who deserve a shout out as well, but they can wait until Fathers' Day.) ;-)

• First of all, my own mother. An incredible woman who, though she denies most talents of her own, was talented enough to raise two talented, well-read, intelligent, capable daughters (if I do say so myself!) and to teach them the importance of love, honesty, respect, education, responsibility, and family. I wouldn't be the person I am today without my mom's guidance, love, and friendship. It's her example, when I think back to being a kid and a teenager, that really influences what kind of a parent I want to try to be to my kids. If I can do all that she did, and do it half as well, I'll be pretty damn good!
• My nana, Elva. A classy and intelligent woman with a loving heart, a healthy sense of perspective and common sense, and a wicked sense of humour. I think more than other people she taught by example the importance of decorum and family loyalty.
• My grandma, Beverly. The best way to describe my dad's mother is to say she was a Christian. Not that my mom and my nana aren't, but Bev's faith, along with her humility, are what I remember most about her. That, and her very Southern, no-nonsense attitude that never left you feeling unloved, but always reminded you to consider what was really important.
• My step-mother, Gloria. The first thing I appreciated about her was how she made my dad's apartment feel like a home when they first started living together. She decorated and cooked nice meals that we ate around a real dining table, and until she came into Dad's life, we had that with Mom, but not with him. My favourite phrase of hers is the injunction, "Don't act ugly." I've thought about that a lot, and even taught it in Sunday School lessons, because the way she phrased it made me really remember that you do become an ugly person from the inside out when you don't show charity or compassion to other people and when you only consider your own needs and feelings at the expense of others. I thank her for that lesson and for the support she's always given to keeping up my relationship with my dad.

So thank you, moms. I know at least half of you won't see this, but I trust that you know - if only by the things I do - how much you all mean to me.