Wednesday, March 9, 2011

An Ode to mOm

I could possibly be an anomaly when it comes to how I feel about my Mother-In-Law.

I'm pretty sure I won the Mother-In-Law lottery actually.

I adore her to no end.

I will never forget the first time I met Nancy.  John and I had been dating for about 6 months and it was clear to me right away that he had an incredible amount of love and respect for his Mom which made the anticipation of meeting her even more nerve wracking.

After meeting her, it was clear I had nothing to be nervous about.  She welcomed me into her home with open arms and had a grace and style about her that was insurmountable.  I remember the sweater she wore out for dinner that night.  It was cream in colour and had a large cowl neck with these different sized rings hanging from it that were wrapped in the same material as the sweater.  It's difficult to explain in words.  I remember that sweater not only because it was probably the most unusual piece of clothing I'd ever seen but also because I thought to myself "Only she could pull a sweater like that off!"  I wonder if she still has it....and if my memory serves me correctly...

That was 11 years ago.  Wow.

In the past 11 years I've had the honour of marrying her amazing son and having 2 beautiful boys with him.  Seeing her as a grandmother makes me wish I could dive into a porthole to go back in time and see her as a Mother.

She is full of warmth, love and patience with all of her grandchildren.  It's quite a lovely thing to watch.

Knowing all 3 of her children it is clear that she was (and still is) nothing less of an amazing Mommy to them.  Having 3 babies under 4 years old at one point I have to give her huge kudos.  Especially knowing that Adrian is a miniature version of his father.

John always jokes that his Mom is like a white Oprah.  We all laugh when he makes the comparison but it's a pretty accurate statement to make. I think Nancy has a far more gentler and  subtler personality than Oprah's, although generally speaking, her wise manner and love all things good for the soul make her quite similar.

But I think there's no one like mOm.  She is one in a million.

I'm grateful for all that she is and all that she has done and continues to do for us.

Thank you, mOm for being so generous with your love, your heart, your soul.

I only hope to be half the Mom and Grandma you are one day.

Happy Birthday to you mOm.

I only wish we lived closer so that we could celebrate your special day with you, enjoying one of our great conversations while sipping on a glass or 2 of white wine.

I love you!  And so do your grandsons......







**Now all of you ladies with Mother-In-Laws - whether you love them or not raise a toast to them  as it is because of these women we have the wonderful men in our lives.**

1 comment:

Ellen said...

Such a wonderful tribute. Happy Birthday to Nancy!