Sunday, May 10, 2009

Three Things I Love About My Mom (Part 1)

There are two things that every one of us has in common no matter where in the world you're from. One is that we’re all going to die. The other (which is slightly more encouraging for most) is that we all have a mom. My mom is amazing. I just want to remember some of the things that I’ve learned from mom that have served me well over the years, and I hope that reading my ramblings will encourage you to do the same.

1. She taught me about her middle name.
My mom's middle name is Joy. Cynthia Joy Sanford. I am in a long line of generations who make their eyes disappear when they smile. I inherited this trait from my mom. Whenever we smile - our eyes go away. And I'm proud to say that it happens a lot. My mom taught me joy.

She taught me to have a sense of humor, that laughter is an ally. She taught me to not take myself too seriously. If you know me at all - you know that I love to laugh. I got this from my mom. Moms, one of the greatest gifts you can give your kids is a demonstration of what joy looks like. Bring joy to your homes.

We named our little girl Ayden Joy Sanford. There are already signs as she gets older (she's 4), that her eyes will be disappearing too.

5 comments:

Danny Lucas said...

Happy Mother's Day to Joe Sanford's wife!

My mother had a brood of 12 children, ten still living. Keeping track was difficult when we went shopping or the beach.

My father created a "Lucas whistle", a distinct melody recognized immediately as a notice to "Come Back Now!".

We all whistled that melody and everyone came running to the sound at once.

My sister Colleen can not whistle to this day. She feared being lost. So she whistled with words, instead of sound blown through lips.

"Wew Wew Wew Wew Wew", she would utter, her head bobbing side to side as she tried to believe this was a whistle. It was so pathetic that strangers would approach to see if she was in pain. But we found her with that call.

My daughters knew more trauma at an earlier age. I decided a whistle was not the way to go, but a "nickname" would suffice.

Your post reminded me of reading Psalm 126 one night with Karli, age 2 or 3 at the time.

"The LORD has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy.

Restore our fortunes, O LORD, like streams in the Negev.

Those who sow in tears
will reap with songs of joy."

I explained this reading to my daughter, and told her of my sister getting into tears from not being able to whistle. So I proposed a nickname for Karli that has lasted all her life.

My daughter's nickname is :
"Song of Joy".
She responds every time to that.

Thanks for reminding me of my daughter, through memories of your mother.

Give my best regards to Joe too. I suspect he is much of the source of your mom's joy.

;)

jendakerr said...

And your laugh is contagious in an awesome kind of way.

Anonymous said...

Perhaps, I shall agree with your phrase

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