Today I want to thank my mom, who happens to be the best mom in the entire universe. 39 + 1 years ago today, she was giving birth to a sick baby, a very sick baby who was not expected to live. After the loss of several babies due to miscarriages and multiple stillbirths, she faced yet another possible loss. When the baby was born she was told that she needed an immediate and complete blood transfusion for any possible chance at survival and if the baby were to survive, it would undoubtedly be mentally retarded or disabled. She went home without her baby, and for any mother, the thought of leaving your sick newborn in the hospital and going home to an empty crib is something nobody should ever have to go through.
My mom had a 1 1/2 year old little boy at home and Christmas was fast approaching, however, she was so worried that part of her was preparing herself for the loss of yet another baby and she just couldn’t bring herself to get a tree, decorations or presents. She just wanted to know if her baby girl would make it and prayed for the day she could bring her home to meet her big brother.
The doctor’s told her that the baby had to reach 5 pounds before even considering allowing her to leave the hospital but the baby was still gravely ill, tiny and looked like a little orange due to the skin discoloration. After what seemed like an eternity, on Christmas Eve, the doctor’s informed my mom that her baby had reached 5 pounds (barely) and was healthy enough to go home!
My mom rushed to the hospital to bring her baby girl home to meet her big brother and just in time for Christmas. But first, she stopped at a department store (similar to Walmart) to get some Christmas presents for her babies, the neighbors brought over a Christmas tree and some decorations and when she awoke on Christmas day, she had her two babies together and her prayers were answered.
And if you hadn’t guessed by now that the baby girl was me, consider the fact that my first stop after leaving the hospital was a DEPARTMENT STORE, well, it explains it all!
Each year when my birthday rolls around, I feel like we all should be celebrating and honoring my mom for her undying love, strength and grace. She endured so much just to bring my brother and I into the world. Unfortunately, her story didn’t end there, she tried once again for one more healthy child and got pregnant shortly after my birth but that baby didn’t make it. Her losses were just too much for any person to endure and only by the Grace of God did she find the ability to keep on going day after day, for my brother and I.
I want to thank her and to share with the world that this magnificent woman has the biggest heart, so full of love, and a soul so caring and unselfish. She is a rare and precious gift to all that cross her path and I, for one, am so grateful to her for always doing everything she could for me and my brother. No girl could ask for a better mom, that’s one thing I know for sure. As you may have guessed, she brought along those same qualities when she became a grandmother of four! My mom has a son, Michael, 41, a daughter, Kat (me), 39+1 (lol), two grandsons, Justin, 17 and Tyler, 12 and two granddaughters, Dakota, 4 and Montana 1 1/2. And she is still taking care of us all in one way or another on a daily basis!
So today I want to say thank you and congratulations to my mom! Your road to and through motherhood sure has been a long and many times, difficult one. However, lucky for us, you were born with some kind of rare and magical “mom gene” (that skipped my generation!), because nobody has suffered as much as you to become a mom, or as a mom! (Sorry for my part of that LOL).
So I want to say to my mom, Holly,
“Happy Birthday to us today mom! You did all of the work (and still do) so we should be celebrating you first today and me second. All I did was appear after all! LOL”
I love you! Kat/Kathleen/Kathy/Holly (LOL) (Even though you could have worked out the name thing a little differently! Just teasing!)
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