My Mom (is cooler than your mom...)

Just like everyone else in the world I have the greatest, most awesome, phenomenal mom. She is a beautiful, strong, selfless woman that I will forever look up to, admire & ask for endless advice. Thanks for being the best friend I could ever ask for, but more importantly thank you thank you for being my mom.

So last year I blogged about some of the lessons my Mom has taught me through the years & while I could blog endlessly about the lessons I’ve learned from my Mom I thought I’d share some of my memories of my dear Mother.

Going to the grocery store:

I don’t know if I liked going to the grocery store as a kid, but I guess Mom had to take us crazies with her & I remember going to the store a bunch of times as a kid. My Mom had these trips figured out, not only did she know what she needed from the store & which aisle it was in, but she knew how to make us behave in the store (she’s a genius don’t worry about it). When you usually think of a young mother in the store with 2+ kids under the age of 10 you think “a disaster waiting to happen”. Well we were bribed & it worked, if we were good the whole time in the store we could have a treat (of our own choosing!) once we got to the checkout. This wasn’t an empty bribe either; if we didn’t behave we wouldn’t get our candy bar (yeah there was a time or two when I didn’t get a candy bar). Ever since then I have LOVED going to the grocery store with my mom, but since high school it was more for the chat sessions with my Mom. Thanks for letting me tag along Mom & thanks for the candy bars.

Morning Practice:

During elementary school (the last few years anyway) I had swim team practice in the mornings before school. There was a group of us from school that were on the team so each of our moms took turns driving & picking us up from practice. Since practice was in American Fork we had to go straight to school from the pool. So the mom that picked us up from practice would have breakfast for us when we got in the car. My Mom ALWAYS had the best breakfasts & I’m not even playing favorites. She would always bring us homemade egg mcmuffins, breakfast casseroles, breakfast burritos, quiche! Ah it was amazing (& that’s just breakfast on the road, she is an amazing cook & I miss eating her food…)! A lot better than poptarts & capri-suns. Thanks MOM for feeding me!

Field Trip:

OK so this is NOT one of my favorite memories when it comes to my mom, but it is definitely something I will never forget. My mom being the awesome, selfless, wanting to be involved & help out person that she is would often be a chaperone on elementary field trips. This one particular field trip was in 3^rd-4^th grade (I can’t remember the exact grade) we went down to Rock Canyon in Provo to look at the rock formations. I don’t really remember anything about the field trip, but what I do remember eats at my heart every day. We were getting on the bus to go home & I was sitting somewhere towards the back & my mom got on the bus & came to sit by me. My mom was about to sit down & being the stupid kid that I was & wanting to be ‘cool’ I told her I didn’t want her to sit by me, I wanted to sit with my friends. She said ok & went & sat by herself towards the front of the bus. I knew as soon as she sat down that I had made a big mistake, but I was too proud &/or embarrassed to fix the problem right then & there. I actually never said anything about it. I can’t believe my short-sightedness, as I told my mom I wanted to sit with my ‘friends’ when I was actually letting my best friend walk to the front of the bus. I’m sorry mom, I don’t even know if you remember this, but if you do I’m sorry. Thanks for putting up with all of the crap I’ve put you through over the years.

Hawaii:

OK let’s get back to the happy stuff. The summer I graduated from BYU, my friend Carly & I decided we were going to take ourselves to Hawaii for graduation. I asked my mom if she wanted to tag along to hang out with Auntie Olly & go to the beach with us. Of course she said yes. Carly & I had a blast going to the beaches & seeing the islands & it was fun when we could convince my mom to go to the beach with us (instead of sewing with Auntie Olly…) but what I loved about this trip was coming home each night & talking to my mom, Auntie Olly, & Uncle Phil. We spent most of the time laughing about the silliest things. Here’s hoping we can take a few more trips to the South Pacific.

Mom jumping off the cliffs in Hawaii :)

Fred Meyers:

This story shows both my Mom’s humor & teaching skills. On one shopping trip to Fred Meyers I was being crazy (I probably didn’t get a treat that day) & going in & out of all of the clothing racks. They were those circular ones. My mom kept telling me to get out of there or she’d leave me. Not listening & thinking I was the smartest little kid around I hid in some of the clothes & put my feet up on the cross bars so she couldn’t see me at all! Of course my giggling gave me away but my Mom decided to teach me a lesson. She moved out of sight & waited to see what I would do. Thinking I was so sneaky I climbed out of my hiding spot & began looking for my Mom, I couldn’t find her…I looked & looked around the area I was in & I couldn’t see her (she could see me). So I decided to go up to the customer service counter, when I got there they asked me if I was lost. Being the smart aleck that I am I told them no, but my Mom was lost. They asked for her name & announced over the PA system that Amy’s lost Mom Moana could find her daughter at the customer service desk. I never ventured far from my Mom’s side at the store again.

Thanks Mom for always being there for me & encouraging me to do my best in all aspects of my life. Thank you for being my mom & my friend, for teaching me how to survive in this world & how to do it gracefully. Thanks for being an amazing example to me & everyone else around you; if I turn out to be half the woman you are I’ll consider myself very lucky. Like I’ve said before, everything that is good about me comes from you (& dad). I would not be where I am today without your constant love & support. I hope that I am giving you the gift that you always ask for because you never want anything for yourself.

I love you, forever & always.

Manuia le Aso o Tina!!