Oh Mother, mine!

Let me first say, I have the strongest, smartest, most amazing mother ever. That sentence sums up this post; but really it's just the beginning of the equation. 

When I was growing up, my mom was such a strong woman. A pastors wife, homeschool mom to 7 kids, involved in politics, teaching piano...the list is endless. She would drive my brother around to debate tournaments, take my sister to sewing lessons, take me to piano lessons, violin lessons, orchestra practices...that list is also endless. 

It's funny...but when I was younger I never noticed any of that. It was normal life for my mom to write out checks for me to take violin lessons. Now that I am a little older, I realize how much I have taken my mother for granted. 

I remember this picture was taken in November of 2009. I had just turned 18 and my parents, brother and I went to Nags Head NC in the outer banks for a vacation. This picture was taken at Kitty Hawk. 

I also remember that it was during this vacation that we began really noticing that there was something up with my moms hands. They would turn a dark purple color, she couldn't feel them and when she could, it was terrible pain. In this picture, my mom was talking about how cold her hands were, and my dad was saying how he would warm them up. :)

I remember that my mother went through a carpal tunnel surgery the following year. Her hands continued to get purple and very cold though. I remember that the next spring, my mother decided that she and I would take miniature field trips to historic spots in Pennsylvania. That was definitely the best school year of my life. Those trips with my mother meant so much to me. 

This picture was taken on one such trip, to the Delaware River, to the spot where George Washington crossed. 

I remember when my parents were informed by the doctors that my mother had Raynaud's Syndrome, which is often mistaken for carpal tunnel. This was why her hands were losing circulation, they said. 

I remember that phone call my parents received in February 2010 when my mother was told that she had a debilitating disease; that it was called Scleraderma and that she needed to go to Johns Hopkins for treatments right away. I remember my brother and I didn't know what was going on, but that we were scared. After all, my mom was the strongest woman I'd ever known. It was a scary time, and my mother was given only a few years to live. 

This picture was taken at my high school graduation in May of 2010. You can't see in this picture, but my mother is wearing gloves. Her hands were always so cold...

She surprised me with a dozen white roses, and I remember crying because she was. 

That summer was one of the hardest summers. I watched my mom begin losing her strength, and I worried every day that I wouldn't see her the next. I remember When my parents decided to use the homeopathic way, rather than the medications and pills the doctors were prescribing. I would make her a mixture of cottage cheese and flaxseed oil every day. And every day we would crush her pills and mix them in applesauce for her to take. 

This picture was taken on the day before I left for college in the fall of 2010. I was going to attend Golden State Baptist in Santa Clara, CA. In spite of my mothers pain and great loss of strength, she planned a going away party for me. She wanted to take pictures with me before I left. I remember in this picture, my mom is literally leaning against me, to stay up. 

It was a nice time at the party, but the whole time, I was so scared that my mother was going to die. 

   That whole school year, I wrote to my mother every week. Sometimes twice a week. She wrote me back, and she was always so positive. She would tell me about the new bird feeders she got, and the hummingbirds that would come around...she would talk about the chickens and turkeys. And she would write and tell me about how good God is. Do you know how incredible that is? 

The next summer of 2011, my mother was strong enough some weeks to go with me to market. We would bring a comfortable chair, set it up, and she would greet and talk to the customers. The customers love my mom...

The following summer came, and my family had this picture taken. My mom had more strength! As you can see, she's wearing her apron because she was making a meal for Sunday. I think she is holding either a sprig of basil or of tea, to make either lemonade or tea. 

Of course, my mother is not completely healed. The Scleraderma is still there, and she suffers now from her internal organs being affected by the disease now. Her lungs, heart and esophagus are always hurting. But...to think that in 2010, I believed that my mother wouldn't live to see 2011. And here it is, 2015 and my mother is regaining her strength. 

Her last son graduated from highschool, so my mother began a small day school at the church. She goes there every day from 8am-2pm. She also takes care of all the chickens (that's well over 150 chickens) and pigs, and feeds most of the animals. She does all the chores around the house. Cleaning, laundry, ironing...she even takes on tasks like stripping and sanding the staircase! 

It's almost like my mom came back to life a new person, with a renewed energy. I know she is in pain, but she never talks about it. She continues to write to me, and I know that she does special things for each of my siblings as well. 

I may be a tiny bit biased, but I believe that my mother is the most amazing woman in the world. I wouldn't be the person I am today if it were not for my mother's influence in my life. 

A happy Mother's Day to the best mother I know!