Lessons from my Mom

Today is the anniversary of my mothers passing. She died a year ago today from cancer. Interesting that she died so close to the same day as my father. My mom taught me a lot of important things, and blessed my life in so many ways.

1. Service- My mom magnified her callings. She made lots of meals for a lot of people (much to my chagrin as a kid). She was a great seminary teacher, Relief Socieity and Primary president. She served as nursery leader, Temple worker and Geneology librarian as well as other things before I was born. Whatever she did she put her all into it.

She was also just a great support to those around her. I will never forget the time she took me along with her to the children's hospital when a couple in our ward was dealing with their daughter's cancer. I thought we might just be in the way and she taught me that people need support in times like these. I don't even think she was their visiting teacher and wasn't a close friend. I believe she was the Primary President at the time. The father attended her funeral last year and he reminded me of my mom's service to them. He was still noticably touched by her thoughtfulness.

2. Love of Nature- As a family we did a lot of camping, hiking and just going on walks out in nature. My mom and I did a lot of this together when I was older too. Rose gardens are a special memory I share with her. When I was going to BYU she would often come all that way from Califonria to Utah just to go on weekend trips with me to Zions and Arches National Parks. She taught me to appreciate the therapeutic qualities of nature.

3. Passion for scriptures and gospel knowledge-I saw my Mom studying the scriptures A LOT my whole life. She learned a lot from them and seemed to know so much about the gospel. She taught us the gospel in a way we learned to love it ourselves.

4. The Joys of Motherhood-My Mom was a great mother, despite all the hard times I gave her. She taught us with love and patience. She wasn't one of those mom's who yelled at her kids all the time and I strive to be the same way as a mother. She used reasoning and love and was always there to listen and give good advice. She was also a lot of fun. She was often doing fun activities with us. She taught me what a good mother is. She was a great grandmother too.

5. How to be tough-My mom was no wimp. She always stuck up for herself. This bugged me a lot as a kid but now I appreciate it deeply. She was a mentally, phycially and emotionally strong person. She suffered through a lot in her life but kept on pushing until she was done, right up until the day she died. She makes me proud to be a woman and be her daughter.

One of my favorite stories my mom told was about a hike she went on as a scout leader. She was the only woman with a bunch of male scout leaders on some kind of training outing. They kept mockingly asking her if she was doing ok and encouraging her. By the time they reached their destination the guys were all worn out but she was fine. She was also the only one who thought to bring along food and drink, and enough to share with all the guys. Right on Mom!

6. A house of order and a life of simplicity- I would be lying to say if I said our house was always clean growing up. She did however believe in getting everything spruced up whenever we had company. The order she taught me was how to organize my life. She taught me also to chose my priorities and cut myself some slack in areas that aren't all that important. Cleanliness and order were important but not as important as other things, like having fun with your family. When she organized she did it with great skill. One of her last visits with me in my home was spent teaching me how to do some serious deep cleaning. You know, the kind young mothers have no time to do much less learn. These things were very handy to know when we sold our house last year.

7. Music- Any musical talent I have I inherited from my mom. She could play the piano and clarinet and taught us to enjoy good music. We loved appreciating nature while listening to beautiful music, whether driving through mountains or lying on the beach.


8. Passion for life and learning- My mom seemed to go through phases of diferent things she liked to do. I think one of my favorites was her baking phase. She also loved to ski, travel, bicycle, hike, camp, and do jigsaw puzzles. There were many other activities she enjoyed and she loved to laugh and have fun. Like her callings, when she had things she enjoyed, she put her all into them. She was always learning new things and went to college while we were going to junior college. It was fun taking classes with her. I was too shy at the time and that drove her nuts. I think I would make her proud today now that I speak out more in my classes.



I miss my mom most when I have a fun experience I know she would love to hear about or when I want advice on how to raise my kids. I often get ideas in my head that I don't think I could have come up with on my own. My Mom's visiting teacher shared with me something interesting. My mom had told her one of her favorite talks at a conference was about how a parent has as much if not even more influence on their loved ones after they pass on. My Mom was always involved in our lives when she was alive and I believe she still exerts her influence in our lives today from the other side. Her example alone still influences me on a daily basis.