And all of our beginnings are different. All of our own real mother's days happen at all sorts of times, each personal and monumental. For the majority of women, today isn't really their personal mother's day. Some begin their journey in the middle of the night after days of pain and labor. Others begin casually in the afternoon just after a lovely springtime brunch. And then some of us begin after a day of picking and canning cherries and a picnic up Provo Canyon...
July 19th, 1964... 9:30 a.m.
David Leland Preece was born. My dear grandma's motherhood journey began. She would "renew" her motherhood nine more times over the next twenty years but it was that first time that introduced her to the next phase of her life. A phase of life that she has put immeasurable amounts of time, energy, and love into. A phase of life that made her and my grandpa empty nesters not but a decade and a half ago. If there ever was a woman that sacrifices so much for her family, so much that I can't comprehend, it is my beautiful grandma.
Twenty-three years, seven months, seven days later...
February 26th, 1988... 7:58 a.m.
Brennan Scott Barfuss made my mom a mom. My grandma had just become a grandma a month prior and I'm sure she was ecstatic to now have a granddaughter in one arm and a grandson in the other. As I'm sure my mother would attest, my grandma taught her and set a wonderful example for her. Easing her into motherhood not only by providing her with lots of little siblings to practice on, but by modeling with those little children the epitome of motherhood. And let me tell you, it worked! My mother is remarkable! She is full of love, kindness, and charity. She is constantly serving others and has so much faith in her Savior. I have seen Him bless her time and time again with patience and endurance throughout her life. The example she has set for me has been priceless.
Twenty-four years, five months, twenty-six days after that...
August 21st, 2012... 7:33 a.m.
Peter Ashton Hall turned our little family of two into a little family of three. Was I scared? Yeah a little but not as much as I was paranoid... gently laying my hand on his chest every two minutes, making sure it was rising and falling through the night. As I look back though, I wasn't really scared. I had confidence that I'd be able to figure things out and I totally depended on some inner "I'm a woman so this will come naturally" thing. Mostly though I had (and have) my mother to look towards. I don't remember my youngest sibling as a baby nor do I remember my mom being pregnant or the way she was with a newborn. I do remember before that though... announcing to my kindergarten glass that my mommy was having a baby! I remember her and my dad had told us not to tell anyone yet haha oops. Anyway... the way my mom is with children. That's something I wish I inherited more of daily. She loves little kids and is so aware of their needs and how to help them be happy. The way she serves and serves and serves some more. I'm telling you, it's constant. The way she develops her talents and keeps moving forward. Everywhere from repainting and aging furniture to crocheting to making thousands of personalized bibs. She does everything! Most importantly... the way her faith drives her to do good, find good, and be the good in the world. That's the example that I get to follow, wouldn't you say I'm the luckiest?? There are times in my own motherhood when I see a glimpse of my own mom and think, "Thank the heavens for Diane Barfuss... who knows what would become of my poor child without her." Through her actions she is the best teacher that I could ask for. Because of her beautiful example of motherhood I might just be able to pull off this motherhood thing myself.
So thank you mom! Thank you again and again, passed the moon and stars. And thank you grandma for wonderfully raising a daughter to be my lovely and talented mother. I hope you both have superb days not only today but also those special days when you became mothers and started your motherhood journey. I hope those days are full of love and appreciation from all of us who owe it to you yet will never be able to fully repay all you have done for us. We love you... I love you!
Happy Mother's Day!
