It’s Mother’s Day, and because I am horrible at buying cards (there are too many choices and they never say just the right thing), I have made a list of reasons why I love my Mom:

1. Mom sends me free Arbonne products. As an independent consultant, Mom has all sorts of Arbonne products she recommends for me, but as a college student and newlywed, I wasn’t always able to afford them, so she always hooked me up with great cosmetic and body products.
2. Mom clothed me. We didn’t always have a ton of money, so as a family, we usually made an annual pilgrimage to the outlet malls at Lebanon, MO, to buy clothes. At the time, I didn’t fully appreciate the clothes that I got because the store we shopped at didn’t always have the most fashionable threads, but I am thankful now that she didn’t let me or my brother run around naked.
3. Mom supported my athletic pursuits. I was never destined for physical greatness. I tried a lot of activities when I was a kid—dance, acrobats, tennis, volleyball, softball, swimming, etc—and while I was never very good at any of them (though I was decent at tennis), Mom supported me 100% by paying for costumes and uniforms, shuttling me to rehearsals and practices, and helping me be my best. Let’s be honest, I sucked at a lot of stuff when I was kid, but Mom always let me pursue my dreams.
4. Mom comes to the rescue when I’m in pain or when I’m sick. Yeah, I’m a pansy, and Mom knows this, so whenever I’m in pain or sick, she comes to my rescue. I distinctly remember a trip to the doctor’s office when I was in eighth grade to have some plantar warts frozen off my feet; I was in so much pain, I passed out, but Mom took care of me. She also took care of me when I had mono my senior year of high school, and she brought me a care package this winter when I came down with a chest cold.
5. Mom feeds me. Barring a batch of bad pork chops when I was young (Dad still gives her a hard time about that), Mom is a darn good cook, and her specialty is comfort foods: chili, gumbo, ham/beans/cornbread, deer steak. Mmm! And when she doesn’t have time to cook, she still feeds me well at local Mexican restaurants and Pizza Glen, my favorite pizza place.
6. Mom talked me through grad school decisions. My junior year of college I was itching to get out of Springfield, so I scheduled a trip to Colorado so Mom and I could check out some school options. On our way home, Mom and I had a super conversation about life and the direction mine was headed. She was simply a voice of reason when I was confused about the decisions ahead of me.
7. Mom always made my birthdays special. I have a summer birthday, so I never got to celebrate my birthday at school. Even so, I had some rock awesome birthdays! As a kiddo, I remember having a party at McDonald’s and having cool parties at our old house in Clinton. In high school, my birthday fell during tennis pre-season, and Mom would bring the team donuts in the morning or cookies in the evening to celebrate my birthday. My 19th birthday fell on my first day of college, so my family wasn’t around to celebrate with me. Even so, Mom made arrangements for my birthday after moving me into my dorm room the weekend before: an SMS bear with balloons waited for me at the campus bookstore and a cookie cake arrived at the front desk of Scholar’s House after my morning classes.
8. Mom helped me pick my major, and she was 100% right. My senior year of high school I settled on athletic training and dietetics as my majors in college, but I was doubting my decision by the time I got to freshman orientation. Somehow, Mom had a discussion with someone from the professional writing program and told the professor about my knack for writing, and Mom suggested I consider professional writing. I am still amazed that I had the wisdom as an 18 year old to listen to my mom and jump in to a major without question!
9. Mom taught me how to be independent. While my dad worked away from home, Mom was left to her own devices when it came to fixing cars, maintaining the house, disciplining Jacob (I was the perfect child), and generally running the house. I watched her, and she taught me how to take care of myself and how to run a house.
10. Mom taught me to love Jesus. Even with all her independence, Mom always entrusted our family to Jesus. She taught me to thank Jesus for beautiful birds, and she taught me to cast my fears to him. She was an excellent example in her service to the church and taught me to serve Jesus and the church, too. I owe much of my love for Jesus to her.

I have more reasons written down, but these are the top ten reasons why I love my Mom! She’s awesome, and I love her very much!