Someone who I have certainly unappreciated over the years is my very own mother. We have had our ups and downs however it seems the downs have blinded me a great deal over the years to all the good she has done for me but also throughout her entire life.
This past weekend I got to road trip with her to Toronto. We've done this before and it's always enjoyable but as we passed buildings that were familiar to her she started telling stories of her childhood. Fond memories of her siblings, parents, places where she grew up. I saw how happy she was telling me all about these memories so I literally grilled her for half the trip home on anything and everything. I told her "I need to start writing these things down" with the hope of writing something about her to honour her in the things she has done over the course of almost 60 years of life.
My mother has always given it her all. In everything that she has done. That is what was so fascinating to me as I heard all about her life. One of my favourites was a story she told about when she was about 14 years old. She had borrowed her uncles bike to enter a huge bike race. 33 miles I believe. She was the only female to enter the race. That didn't stop her. She didn't care that she was the only girl among men. She finished dead last....but she completed it. What courage.
Her dad bought each one of the kids a ticket for a draw once, to win a big kid bike. 28 inch wheels. SHE WON! She ran back to the park in her baby doll PJ's to collect her prize. Didn't even take the time to change before racing out to claim her prize.
Age 18 she entered a crocheted afcan into the huge fair in Toronto. "The little old ladies got ousted by a young whipper snapper!" She said. This was her first crochet project!
When she was a kid she and her sister Kathy collected the bread wrappers off the toast master bread. They didn't just collect 10 wrappers that they could have used to purchase a small gift. No! They collected for an entire year and won themselves a box of cinnamon buns. She got to eat one for dinner.
She competed in fiddle competitions into adulthood, many times claiming the prize and even competed in the North American Fiddle Championships. Once she won 2 rolls of wall paper. Now that's not a prize you see being given out anymore. Her dad wallpapered the stair way with it. :)
My mom worked in nursing homes as a profession for most of her pre child adulthood. She put everything into it! She came up with a program that was soon being recognized in all sorts of districts to help non moving residents gain more movement. She'd travel around teaching this to nursing home staff. She wanted the best for the residents she worked for.
She has been part of the Kiwanis groups fundraising for cystic fibrosis.
My mom is an avid quilt maker. So much that she has had dozens of quilts ready at the asking to give away to different charities. She has guessed she has given away over 42 quilts. Do you know how long it takes to make a quilt? Not to mention the countless quilts as gifts she has made. We alone as a family have received 6 or 7 quilts from her.
My mom used to work as a travel agent. Like I told you before, she put EVERYTHING into what she did. She has been rewarded throughout her life because of this. She saw many rewards through being, at times, in the top 30 agents in North America, that she has traveled all over the world. She named at least 30 countries she has been to on account of winning trip because of her hard work and earning them.
She has done countless amount of hours raising money for women's shelters in this area and across Canada. Just last year she raised, single handedly, $7200 for Nelson House. People sometimes ask me "is your mom retired?" The answer is always a long "NOOOhohohoooo". I'm not sure she will ever be retired. Even if she's done work she will always be doing the good work of the Lord.
The last thing we talked about on our drive home was how she came about to be elected as 1 of 12 members of the Ottawa Real Estate Board. There are 3000 agents in this area and the board picked her to become the next board member. No one stood against that decision. What an honour. And all because of hard work!
My mom sets the example of hard work. When I look at her I see the Provers 31 woman. She doesn't do the same things as the lady in scripture but she certainly works just as hard in many other ways.
I am so proud of my mother. I can't wait to share this blog post with all who know her and all who know me!
Love you Moooooooder.
