My Mom > Your Mom

In honor of mothers day I would just like to make a shout out to all the women who have helped mold me into who I am today.
So here we go, lets talk about the women in my life.

First I want to acknowledge two of the women who played a big part in my life throughout high school.
Mama Blihar, and Mrs. Rhonda.

Back story: The Blihars moved to North Carolina my 8th grade year.  Me and Rachel played soccer and volleyball together, and we were in the same line in PE class.  I would say we were friends at that time, but we never really hung out.  That was until one day when I got a random phone call from Rachel. She was inviting me to go on the boat with her the following weekend, I agreed.  (First, this is a little odd because I think i'm really bad at putting myself out there and making new friends, especially alone.)  Anyways, I went.  The second I walked through Rachels door I was met by her mom, "Lacey, i'm so glad you could come! Are you hungry?"  From that point on every time I walked through the door I was greeted and with in a few minutes the question was asked whether or not I was hungry.  Sometimes, if Mrs. Blihar knew I was coming she would already have a sandwich waiting on the table for me.  That is just one of the small things she did for me.  When I lived in the doll house she would always drive me home, and on those rides she would ask how my life was, and the cool thing was, she actually wanted to know! I can't even tell you how many times we would sit outside my house in her mini-van just talking about boys in my life, or lack there of.  If I ever needed a ride home from school, or a ride to exit 25, she was more than willing. If our water was cut off I knew I could go over and use her shower, and then have a meal waiting on me afterwards.  When me and Rachels friendship went off track for a while, she never treated me any differently, I still knew I could always come to her if I needed anything.  Before I left for college I went to say goodbye to her, she had already taken Rachel to ECU but we just sat in the kitchen, ate chips, and talked about what college would be like (and of course what meals she would cook for us when we were home on break).  Mrs. Blihar showed me unconditional love, and that just because you're a mom doesn't mean you still can't have fun.  She knew how to mix work with play and to never take anything to serious.  When what you love no longer becomes fun, its time to make a change with something.

My relationship with Mrs. Rhonda is different than my relationship with Mrs. Blihar.  I first met the Albrittons when they moved down from New York in the 6th grade.  Me and Dorian were at Lakeshore together and our little brothers played LYAA Football together. I started loving Mrs. Rhonda when I saw how much she loved Bradley.  (You love members of my family, chances are i'll love you back.)  Bradley has been part of Mrs. Rhondas daycare pretty much sense...birth. She is, hands down, Brads second mom. I have had countless times when I go to pick up Bradley and I end up in a 45 minute long conversation with her while Brad continues to run around the backyard.  Sometimes they start with easy questions like, "How is track going" while others got straight to the point like our "Why aren't you taking my son to Prom?" one, and sometimes they even ended with me tearing up at the fence post when talking about my family.  All of those conversations, simple or not, have played a major part on the relationship I now have with her.  She always let me know I was welcome in her home, and that she was there if my family needed anything.  Now, when I go over to see Dorian part of my time always belongs to me talking to Mrs. Rhonda about Brad, college, or other things/people that just can't be named on this blog.  If we're skyping or talking on the phone, there is most likely a point where I have a short conversation her. But the thing is, talking to Mrs. Rhonda isn't a struggle for me like it would be with other parents, its easy.  I enjoy it because she has taken the time to get to know me.  Throughout my seven years of knowing Dorian, I learned a lot from his Mom.  Whether it was how important respect is to any relationship, what Mrs. Rhonda says goes, or how things just need to be told how they are - there's a time to play and there's a time to get things done.  Mostly, I watched how she loved her family, and how she loved my own.

These women have influenced my life and my actions in many different ways, and I have the utmost respect and love for the both of them.  But the woman I have to thank for everything i've accomplished is my own mom.

_________________________________________________________________________

My Mom has always been, and always will be my number one fan. She has come to every soccer game, swim meet, or track meet that i've participated in.  She has drove the countless hours, and sat through many different crazy weather patterns just to watch me do what I love.  Like the soccer game that lasted 3 hours instead of the original 65 minutes because of the constant lightning strikes.  Or that one time I had an invitational at Chapel Hill for track, we woke up at 6am, she drove me the 4 hours it took to get there, watched me run for 8 seconds, and then drove me the 4 hours home.  At tournaments or meets she always saved enough money for me so I could get a t-shirt...whether or not I would wear it.  No matter how intense the meet or game was, no matter how nervous or upset I was at something, I could always pick her voice out of the crowd. She was the mom on my team who wrote down the names and numbers of all the girls and printed a copy for each mom so they would all know who to cheer for.  After games and meets she never scorned me if I did bad, she always had positive things to say.  There was a point when I ran for UVU that I didn't know if it was for me, I thought I was in over my head, and I just didn't enjoy it anymore.  I remember I wrote my mom a long email telling her how I felt about the situation.  I had never quit a sport before, I had always stuck it out, but I felt like I couldn't do it anymore.  She replied with, "Well hang in there...and you can always talk to me and be honest with me.  Just remember that I am always your #1 fan and i'm always on your side."  Her answer didn't tell me what to do, but it was exactly what I needed to hear.

She always sticks up for her kids, no matter the cost.  During one of our moves Lyndsi had an English paper due, but since our computer wasn't connected she wasn't able to print it out so it could be turned in.  When she explained this to her teacher she was told with out this paper she would fail the class and that its her fault she couldn't print her paper off.  My mom emailed and called this teacher and when she didn't reply my mom showed up at the school and scheduled her own 'meeting'.  This meeting ended with the teacher in tears and Lyndsi being able to turn her paper in with out it being marked down.   In high school there was a girl who attempted to make my life pretty terrible.  One night she appeared at our door, and when I told my mom who it was she made it clear that this girl was not welcome on our property, and that if she was going to start trouble she could march right down our driveway and get back in her friends car and never come back.  While living in Winslow Bay we had a neighbor who pretty much couldn't stand our family.  One day he made some rude/sarcastic/mean comment to Corey while he was playing in our backyard.  When my mom heard she, once again, let him know who was boss, and that no one messed with her kids.

There was a point in time when my mom went back to school to be a dental hygienist.  First, people are rarely accepted into the first time they apply, a lot of the time people apply multiple times before they are in.  But not my mom! She got in the first time she applied.  Throughout her entire schooling she raised a family of four children.  No matter how much she had to study at night she always made time to lay down with us until we fell asleep, she always read us stories, she always made sure she was our mom before she was student.  I have many memories  of days where I was able to go to school with my mom and sit in her classes with her, even then she always made sure I wasn't hungry, or that I always had an activity to occupy my time.  When it came time for graduation many people in my moms class didn't have children, they could devote all their time to studying for their boards. My mom found a balance between the two and still managed to score they highest score out of everyone of the boards, and graduate at the top of her class.  I struggle enough with  my finals now and I don't have anything close to a family that occupies my time.  When I was younger I didn't realize how big of an accomplishment this was for my mom to achieve, but now that I can look back on it I finally realized that my mom has pretty much always been a beast.

When it came to boys or friends my mom never put tight restrictions on me.  She let me go, she let me make my own mistakes, but she never said 'I told you so'.  She was there for me my sophomore year when the boy I had been crushin on BIG TIME decided he didn't like me anymore and decided to date a fish faced ginge (maybe i'm still a little bitter about how that was handled).  She was there my senior year when the boy I thought I was going to prom with decided to go with his ex-girlfriend, and she was there my last night in Mooresville after I said goodbye to a boy I loved and literally couldn't stop crying.  She was there when I was fighting with my best friends and sat with me while I cried all the way through The Hannah Montana Movie.  She always kept an open mind to the people I came home with, and she always had the greatest amount of trust in me.

I learned everything I know from my mom.  I learned how to love others, how to figure out my priorities, and how to be successful.  More than anything else, I learned that everything comes back to family.  Even if my mom and dad were having problems we were always reassured that no matter what, we'd be a family.  Watching the relationship that my mom still has with her own family is exactly what I want with my family.  Through her example i've learned how to be selfless, and how to find a balance between helping others while still taking care of yourself.  I have never questioned how important I am to my mom, or how important my siblings are to her.  Being away from her while i'm in college has been one of the hardest parts, but she always seems to know when something is wrong, and she always reminds me that she is only a phone call away.  I hope I can express to my family everything she has expressed to us.

My Mom > Your Mom