Many years ago, when my kids were 9, 3, and 2, we drove out to CA and stopped and Disneyland on the way to my sister’s wedding. I have to say, diapers for the 2-year-old were MUCH easier than my 3-year-old’s fascination with bathrooms. We must have stopped at every bathroom between here (CO) and CA. It got to where we didn’t know if she really had to go or was just bored and wanted to play in the bathroom. And Disney has automated toilets, sinks, and dryers, a 3-year-old’s playground!

Now I have one out of the house, and 2 high school kids. My daughter is wonderful, a very talented musician and ballet dancer, and told me the other day that I’m her best friend. After the Mother’s Day stuff yesterday, the two of us went shopping for an upcoming trip and had a great time.

My 15-year-old can still be sweet and is still huggable at 6′ 160lbs, but I’m looking forward to after the hormones calm down a bit and he’s human again.

We’re wallet parents, but only for dance, voice, percussion and sports. My kids aren’t into designer clothes and status stuff. It’s a pleasure paying for their interests.

Thank you for the kind words. I suppose what I really meant was, I see how hard it is on my wife. She struggles working with him, fighting with his school, and searching out treatments and therapys for him. Almost her every waking moment is spent thinking of him, to the point that she wonders if she’s neglecting our daughter, and I sometimes feel she’s neglecting our relationship.

I love him dearly. But, he can be a struggle sometimes.

This is what I delivered as her Eulogy:

I am going to paraphrase a quote by author and businessman Frank Fuller: (Often attributed to Mark Twain)

“When I was a girl of 16, my mother was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have her around. But when I got to be 21, I was astonished at how much she had learned in just five years.”

That pretty much describes my tumultuous teenage years with my Mom. I could never understand why she was so tough on us sometimes. When I matured a bit and went through only a fraction of what she did, I understood.

There are so many things I can say. To mention that she had a rough life is an understatement. As a single parent, she raised 7 kids, juggled finances, a home, and endured hardships that would have broken someone half her age. She was a fighter; strong willed and stubborn. She never took no for an answer. When doctors told her for six years that it was medically impossible for her to have children….well, I’m living proof of her answer to that one.

When there was no way of doing something, she’d find one anyway.
When she was told that she would never qualify to own a home, she got one. When she found out Christy’s graduating class wouldn’t have caps and gowns for their ceremony, Mom discussed the matter with the school committee in her incomparable way. All of them got caps and gowns. When she dealt with lawyers, doctors, or mechanics, they found out pretty quick that Mom was not a pushover.

Mama was a “do it yourselfer”. She showed us, by example, how to be self sufficient. She would read up on how to upholster furniture, do carpentry, and design things. Then she’d by the material and do it herself.

She was a loving, supportive parent who knew that there were times when she had to get tough with us for our own good. When she used our middle names we knew we were in trouble. When one of us did something and no one fessed up, she’d threaten to spank all of us to get the “right one”. She loved her kids and would often say that we were her life.

She had a keen mind for business and could have easily been the head of a corporation. Mama never graduated from High School. It was a decision she would always regret, and it motivated her to get a GED in 1973 at the age of 42. In 1982, at the age of 51, she graduated Cum Laude from Lorain Business College with a double degree in Accounting. She would tell us repeatedly that even if she had to drag us all the way to school everyday ALL of her kids would graduate. We did.

Mom was so proud of my service in the Army, but she hated the fact that I was often deployed to far away and dangerous places. Going to war was easy. Telling Mom was the hard part. I would always reassure her and tell her not to worry, but she worried about all her kids. When I came home from Desert Storm, she had a huge banner on the front of the house that read: “Welcome home SGT Cheryl McElroy from Operation Desert Storm.” It was quite a neighborhood attraction until we took it down.

My deployment to Operation Iraqi Freedom was not unexpected, but still hard for her to take. As stricken as she was with diabetes, cancer, and heart and lung problems, she still worried about me up until the time I walked into her room at the intensive care unit and told her I was home. In retrospect, I think that’s what she waited for.

She was a mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, sister, aunt, and lifelong loyal friend to a privileged few.

We got our resilience from her. When life threw Mom lemons, she didn’t bother to make lemonade. She was the kind of gal that would pick them up, throw them back, and say: “You’ve got to be kidding.”

Mom used to tell me about a re-occurring dream she had as a kid. She was on an endless road and would struggle to get to the end of it by walking, running, skipping, and even going back and forth in a rocking chair. In her dream, she could never reach the end. I don’t know how she did it, but she finally got there.

If I have turned out to be half the person Mama was, it’s because she instilled character, perseverence, courage in the face of adversity, and a strong love of family. I can still hear her voice and feel the strength of her presence. I have always believed as Mama did, that if you love and care about someone, you tell them while their still around to hear it. I can’t help but believe that she is still here.

I love you mama.

Happy Mother’s Day

Mortis said:
*sighs*

My kids are 19 and almost 16.

I’m just “The Wallet” now.

Wait till you have grandkids!! They are the neatest, funnest things in the world. I’m a firm believer that the only reason we have kids is so we can have grandkids and I got 4 of them all under the age of 5 and they are a BLAST!!!

How was school?
Did anybody bite you?
Who spit on you?

whoa, your kids go to school with Geraldo’s kids?

Happy Belated Mothers Day to you Michelle, to all of the Mothers posting here, and to all of the Mothers-To-Be.

http://www.townhall.com/columnists/DougGiles/2008/05/10/teach_your_kid_how_to_sense_bs?page=1

That was/is PRICELESS!
[Still crying!]