My sister and I get our love for travel from our mother. When Mom let us know that there was a Magnificent Mom contest being sponsored by her local newspaper we wrote this magnificent nomination for her. She got an honorable mention in the paper. She's still the grand prize winner for us.
We do this (pretty much every year)
And on special occasions
we go places like this
And I don't have to tell her stories about this,
because she was there
Without further ado, I present our nomination....
*********************
Our mom LOVES maps. There are endless possibilities of how to get from point A to point B. You have to take the scenic route along the river, past the historic courthouse, stopping at a roadside stand, and probably hitting a national monument. It’s not simply enough to get there, but to load as many experiences into the trip as possible.
Let’s Go!
The beginning of any road trip is always fun and games, full of sing-a-longs , snacks, and the license plate game. Everyone has clean clothes and no one has to go to the bathroom. Yet.
Then we took a sharp right into adolescence and teenage angst. Mom was both our pilot and the co-pilot; driving the family minivan from church choir to basketball games in the midst of working jobs 1, 2 and 3. It might have been easier for her to step on the gas and floor it straight to high school graduation, but that’s not her style . Mom’s style included a well-rounded life education including: French horn lessons, Jim’s Ribs, living with (and being) foreign exchange students, tulip festivals, Lincoln’s home, mission trips, schnitzel, musicals, Whitey’s peppermint ice cream, rodeos, fondue, bike rides, gingerbread house competitions, and attending each and every school function.
Is it time for a rest stop yet?
Every parent wishes at some point that they could just leave their squabbling children somewhere else. In our family, it’s called college. Four years (or more) where your children live somewhere else, solve their own problems, cook their own food, and play their own music….as loud as they want.
College graduation in no way means you are equipped to handle life without Mom.
She just might be farther away.
Everyone meet back in an hour
As adults, our relationship with our mom changed. We no longer could be in the same place at the same time. It’s like being at an amusement park where one person wants to be on the Flying Dumbos, another wants to on the roller coaster, and the third wants to watch a show in the air conditioning. For over 10 years, we have lived in different states than our mom. How do you hold a family together?
Wish you were here
Before Facebook, there were her emails and postcards.
Before Skype, there was Mom’s phone call.
Before Instagram, there were photo albums. With real printed photos. Taken with film.
The best part of the trip
After extensive research in the field, we have determined that our mom, is by far, the most magnificent. We brag about her to our friends and they agree. We have reached the best part of our trip. And that trip has taken us all over the world.
(Except to Asia. We’ve all been there, just not together.)
If we hadn’t been following Mom’s map, we never would have had these experiences together.
Tracing our German heritage. Maasai tribal mud masks. Bike MS. Climbing the Sydney Harbor Bridge. Wine tasting. Skiing. Safari. Broadway shows. Easter in Greece. Christmas in Cairo.
Mom always says, “If I can keep up with you girls, I’m doing just fine.”
If only she knew the truth. As long as we can keep up with you, Mom, we’re doing just fine.
When you use GPS, it always tells you when you’ve reached your destination.
We haven’t gotten there yet. We hope we never do.
Happy Mother’s Day.
Lovingly written by:
Jenni (#1 Daughter)
Heather (Favorite Daughter)
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