My mom is a teacher in every sense of the word. Every move she makes is a thought out lesson prepared in her innovative mind with key phrases, benchmarks, and standards. Not lessons typed up or forced, but eager lessons that have danced in and out of her life effortlessly for as long as I have known her.
She is relaxed and easy going. I love watching her challenge Parker's comfort in such a way that he is literally tricked into a confident kind of learning. He loves to bake, and so each time my mom comes to visit they pull out the old stand mixer, dust it off, and follow directions. Parker loves following directions, he touches each page in the recipe book until he finds what his caleigh wants to bake. He presses his finger carefully and lets it drag and wave down the page as he lists different commands making sure to use "first, next, and last". He does his best to keep clean, but usually makes a mess. It is all part of the process. My mom is patient and gentle.
She is full of curiosity. I really have never met another human that expresses the variety of questions as my mom does. I have always pictured her with my own curiosity as a young child and wondered what it would be like to be her best friend. Would we read Nancy Drew books and solve our own mysteries? Would we research in the library all the different cultures of the world? Would we sit at the beach and watch people - making up their life stories in one sentence. It is her curiosity that connects her so deeply with Parker.
She is full of wisdom and brings me down to earth. Learning about the difficulties in this world has always haunted me. As a child, my worry and determination to solve big world problems sometimes left me small and helpless. Keep it simple, do what you can in your life, be positive, and never give in to the I can't. It was my mom who kept me moving forward when I felt like everyone in the world was against me (oh, middle school).
Each day with my mom is cherished. But more importantly, each moment she gets to spend loving and teaching my children is a blessing.
