I love my mom

Yesterday was Mother’s Day. Although it’s a day late, I’d like to dedicate this post to my lovely, wonderful, and fabulous mother, who is also amazing in every way.

A few reasons why my mom is amazing (in no particular order):

1. Her meanness
Mom used to tell us that she was the meanest mom in the world, whenever she wouldn’t give us candy, a new toy, or time off from chores. But looking back I appreciate that meanness, because I can see now that it really was an expression of love. She wanted us to grow up independent, strong, and knowing how to work. There actually was method to the madness (or meanness…)

2. Her independence and frugality
Mom has always been a little bit…dare I say… cheap. And not in a bad way. She saves money on less important things by shopping for bargains, making her own, or doing without, and uses that saved money to fund once-in-a-lifetime trips, experiences, and opportunities. She makes her own bread (and grinds her own wheat for the bread), is very well acquainted with our power tools, and keeps a year’s supply of food for an emergency. She has encouraged these same tendencies in her kids by making us pay for our own nonessential expenses starting at the age of twelve and by making us work hard! She has taught me to read the weekly ads, make do with creative solutions, and relish the independence I achieve by doing things on my own.

3. Her projects
My mother is a project woman. This stems largely from her independence and frugality. When she wants something she goes out and gets it done; she doesn’t hire someone else. As long as I can remember, we’ve remodeled the houses we’ve lived in. We built our most recent house. My mom decided that she wanted to build a house, and so she did. (P.S. I am not discounting my dad in this process, but his participation in the projects will have to be saved for Father’s Day) My parents found a lot, cleared it of poison oak, trees, and brush that were so thick you couldn’t walk more than a few feet onto the property, designed the house, got the plan approved, hired some of my older cousins to come help build it, laid the foundation, put up the walls, nailed on siding, built porches and roofs, and did the interior, including plumbing and electrical. The only service I remember my parents paying someone else to do was texturing the walls, because they didn’t have the equipment and didn’t feel it would be practical to buy it. Oh, and they also had to hire someone to blow up the hill where the house is, because it was so steep. They even rented a tractor to do most of that work themselves! During this time mom was raising five kids, acting as a chauffeur for all of us, moving us, living in a trailer, feeding (with some help from me) the crew of family, cousins, and grandpa, and managing finances for all of the building process. And she was a VERY active participant in actually putting the house together. Holy cow! That’s the biggest project I remember. Mom is also liable to take on any number of smaller projects at any given time. Some of the more recent include canning probably over 10 gallons of tomatoes, remodeling our study with wood gotten for free from the now-closed Gottschalks, and building beds for the two girls and herself, including drawers and shelves underneath. I’m still not quite at the level of mom (like I’ll ever be, ha!) but I’ve noticed myself become more project-oriented over the years. I’m working on achieving the staying power to stick with a project through thick and thin, like she does!

4. Her testimony
Mom always made the effort to have family prayers, mealtime prayers, family home evening, and family scriptures in the morning. I don’t remember much about being seven, but one thing that I do remember is getting up in the morning and reading scriptures with Mom and Dad. That has helped me to learn the value of scripture reading. Through my mom’s example I’ve learned to ask hard questions about the gospel, but still know that it’s true, even if I’m not entirely sure about the details. She showed me how to express my own testimony through the way I live. And she taught me that you can always go to Heavenly Father in prayer and expect answers. Her testimony has shaped mine.


All of mom’s other amazing qualities will have to be saved for another day. I just hope she knows how much I love and appreciate her for the person she is and for all she does every day. I’m happy every time I realize I’m doing something she would do, or reacting the way she would to a situation. As I’ve gone off to college, I’ve realized just how wonderful my mom really is. She’s fabulous. She is strong and stubborn, persistent and loving, and I want to be just like her. Thanks mom.


<3 Eliza

Mom and I hanging over a canyon on our hike up to Overlook Point.  She was much more adventurous than I was!