Last But Not Least...

I was born in October of 1977. My Mom, already the mother of an 18-month-old son, was just about to turn 25. Isn't she beautiful?! I bet she never could've guessed what she had ahead of her! Over the next 17 years, she would give birth 9 more times! During my Mom's childbearing years, my Dad served as branch president, bishop and stake president, almost back-to-back. When the youngest of her 11 children was only 2, the family would move to Kentucky where my Dad would serve as a mission president. Why do I share this list of my father's church callings, you ask? Because I want you to understand how much of the family work was done while my Dad wasn't around.

Over the years, I've had many people ask me how she does it. I know I lived there, but I honestly don't know! Each time I have another baby, I feel maxed out on my mothering abilities. Unfailingly, I call my Mom. "how did you do this with 11? I can't do it with 4!" She just reassures me that it can, in fact, be done with 4.

The amazing thing about all that she did is that she did it without complaining. She may have been sick and/or exhausted the whole time (and I can verify that she pretty much was), but she never complained. Nauseated during pregnancy, up all night with a baby, or lonely for her far-away family, Mom's responsibilities never rested. She just kept at it, day in and day out without a word of complaint. The amazing thing to think is that she became a mother 33 years ago when my brother was born and still has three kids at home! She still hasn't taken a break.

My Mom was a genius in finance. I don't say that because she's sitting on a pile of money in some fancy house on a hill. Actually, she and my Dad have always been poor. That's what's so amazing about her! Somehow she managed to make the money stretch far enough to support 13 people! We always had clothes and food and new shoes when we needed them. She managed to pay for piano lessons and extracirricular sports and one trip a year to Boise. When it came time to send her kids to college, my Mom did better than pay our way. She taught us to work and depend on ourselves. Mom and Dad paid for no one's college, and yet, each of their college-age children have attended BYU and five of those have graduated. Her two older sons also have gone on to professional school and graduated.

My Mom was a great example of spiritual strength. Besides supporting my father in his many church callings at great personal sacrifice, she had her own share of callings. My Mom has held about every calling the church has to offer. I especially remember what an amazing Primary Music Leader she was. Recently, she was the seminary teacher. She does an excellent job wherever she is asked to serve. She reads her scriptures, says her prayers and attends all of her meetings. She goes to the temple, fasts on fast sunday and watches all of the sessions of conference. Maybe these things sound like simple, everyday tasks. They're the building blocks of my Mom's character and they have each been very important. As a result of my Mom's strength and example, both of her older sons have served missions and four of her older daughters! All of her married children have married in the temple. Each of her children are active in the church. I recognize that many good and even excellent parents do not have such statistics, but still I believe we owe it all to our mother.

The final tribute to my Mother can be seen by any who know us. We are all independent people, requiring little in the way of financial support from our parents. However, each of my Mom's children calls her regularly. We are the best of friends! I don't go one day without calling my Mom (often it's more like 3 or 4 times in a day). Even the older boys call Mom regularly. She's not just a hard worker, a spiritual giant or a financial genius. She's also an incredibly loving and cool person. She's one of my best friends in the world. I love you, Mom! Someday I hope I'm exactly like you!