ok, so now you all have met the hubby, my brother and sister, and my grandpa. i have a feeling you’re going to get to know most, if not all, of my family! my family is so important to me, and i seriously couldn’t be more blessed, so i can’t help wanting you to meet all of them. tonight, i just want to briefly introduce the one who has been there all along…the woman who brought me into this world. my mom…
my mom is so special to me. i have so many great memories with her that it’s hard to just think of a few. she probably doesn’t want me to share this with the world, but she turned 50 last year! i think she looks great for 50, so if i were her i wouldn’t be the least bit ashamed to admit my age. anyway, due to the fact that a lot of the family wasn’t available last year around her birthday, she never got a proper celebration for the big 5-0! so, we decided to add a little surprise party for her when we all went back to my grandpa & Joanne’s house after my grandpa’s birthday party.
i think she was definitely surprised! (hint: if you throw someone a surprise party over a year past their birthday, they’re pretty much not gonna see it coming)
i thought the cake/gift idea was perfect! Nordstrom is her all time favorite store.
anyway, as part of this surprise 50th birthday party, we put together a little video for her with pictures and clips of videos from when we were kids. in addition, each of us was asked to share our favorite memory about mom. i went back and forth, debating over so many! i didn’t know how to choose.
there was the time that we went rollerblading while living in Vancouver. my mom had never been, so she rented some rollerblades so that she could go with us. she had barely made it out of the rental place when she fell the first time, breaking her hair clip. then, she decided that the best way to stop was by either running into a pole or grabbing one of us and taking us down with her! we laughed so hard that day, even though we were all pretty beat up by the end of the day =)
then, there were the times that i was really struggling at school. i had a hard time finding good friends, and i got hurt a lot growing up. i remember driving in the car with my mom one day and i think we were on our way to pick up my little brother at school. i just started crying and talking with her about the latest incident, and she didn’t react emotionally or try and fix the situation, like she would at times. instead, she just let me talk and then put her hand on my leg and said that she would be my friend. and she has been one of my best friends ever since.
however, the memory that i chose to share on the video was probably one of the most special memories i have of my mom. i decided to go to Africa about 8 years ago. i wanted to go work in the slums, help at an orphanage and meet my sponsor child, among many other things. i was 19 at the time, so this scared my parents to death. but i’m the type of person where if i get it in my head to do something, i have to do it! so, i made all of the arrangements and raised all of the money i needed (thanks to my awesome family and friends!) and embarked on this amazing journey to Kenya for a month. as i was packing up the night before, my mom came in and talked to me and handed me this big envelope. inside of the envelope were individual letters for every day that i was going to be gone. while i was in Africa, i looked forward to those letters every single day. when i was scared or alone, i would just re-read them again. some days, those letters were the only thing that got me through the day. i still have all of them with my keepsakes, and i will always cherish them and the love that my mom shared with me through them.
mom, i can’t tell you how much i love you and how much you mean to me! i only hope that i can be as good of a mother to my kids someday =) thank you for always loving me, supporting me and encouraging me. happy “50th” birthday!
xoxo
jess