Becoming my Mom

I remember when I was a teenager I swore I would never be like my mother. Even today, my dad will compare my sister and me to see which one is more like my mom. We both deny any similarities, even though my mom is a wonderful person. Tonight as I was getting ready for a weekend baseball tournament I realized: I am my mom!

I remember the many road trips that we took as kids, piled in the station wagon, driving cross country. (We drove from Louisiana to Alaska and from Alaska to Ohio.) My mom was very frugal and refused to let us eat out. I remember stopping on the Alaska highway and mom making sandwiches on the hood of the car. She would pull out the lunch meat, cheese and the loaf of bread. We would all gripe about how awful it was to have to eat homemade sandwiches.

With Ethan playing in baseball tournaments across the state, we do a lot of traveling on the weekends. I discovered that running through the McDonalds' drive thru every weekend adds up very quickly. (It costs a family of four $20 at McD's! Crazy!) Also, eating at the concession stands is outrageous. So, to save money I decided to make sandwiches and stick them in a cooler. I decided to make it easy and have peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. I started an assembly line on the counter and finished in no time and then it hit me: I am my mom!

The longer I thought about it, the more I realized that I am ok, and even happy about this. My mom taught me several valuable lessons including the value of a dollar. To my mom: I hope that over the years I model more of your traits including your undying devotion to your husband, your grace under pressure, and your rock solid faith. I love you and thank you!