Mother’s Day 2017: Influential Women

Happy Mother’s Day! I have been blessed with so many amazing female role models in my life. This Mother’s Day, I think it’s important to publicly recognize them for the impact they’ve had on my life.

Mama

Let me just tell you how lovely my mother is. She is the best mother that any girl could have. In my house, “stupid” was a bad word. We couldn’t even use “butt” either. That used to frustrate me. “All my friends can say those words! Why do I get in trouble for it?” I love that I was raised that way though. We went to church every single Sunday. I went through all of the Catholic sacraments.

My mom has never missed one of my performances. She and my dad would come to all day recitals. I’m talking 10am-10pm, watching my sister and I do the same dances in three different shows. Then, they’d take us and our friends out for dinner. My parents would drive to Athens to see me perform with my club here. They would pay to attend three different performances of The Nutcracker or any play (for which I was rarely actually on stage) I did in high school.

She has been the greatest support system for me. This last year has been tough between a new niece, my breakup, my sister moving away…somehow, in all of everything that happened, my family has only gotten closer, with my mother leading the pack. She dealt with a house covered in cat hair to get me into my new apartment. Needless to say, I’m blessed, and love her more than anything in the world.

Elayne

I’ve got a great role model leading the way for me. Being five years apart, we weren’t too terribly close growing up. I was never cool enough to hang out with her and her friends, then I was too busy for her when she would come home from college. Finally, when I got to UGA, we got closer. Remove one crappy boyfriend standing between us, and we’re closer than ever! She has brought my absolute favorite human into the world, and it’s incredible to see her as a wife and mother.

Now, we deal with a six hour time difference every day. While her husband was deployed, we had a 1:00pm ET conference call every day. She gives me advice and distracts me if I’m having a bad day. I’m grateful to have a sister to call me on my crap, but support me when I’m too stubborn to give up.

Linda

Linda is my mom’s best friend, and my godmother. She has been a huge part of my family’s life. She was also my sister’s sponsor when she got confirmed. A couple of years ago, Linda was in a terrible accident. I’ve never seen anyone fight so hard. Not only is she incredible, but she also raised four incredible children. It’s a running joke in our family that Linda has a direct prayer line to God somehow. If you’re lucky enough to know her, well, you’ve met a true angel on earth.

Aunt Susan

Aunt Susan is another that has a direct prayer line to God. Thank goodness for that too. I hope that Elayne and I grow to be like Aunt Susan and my mom are. Once, Aunt Susan tried to teach me to knit. God bless her for that. Both my sister and mother caught on quickly, but I didn’t at all. Aunt Susan has four lovely children who are all starting their own families (some have started a good bit ago, but still).

Should I ever feed you, chances are that there will be too much. I blame my mother and Aunt Susan for that. You are always well fed and loved whenever you’re with Aunt Susan.

Grandma

Look at the family that Grandma started! There are generations of incredible, influential women, all thanks to her. She started the over-feeding of visitors. The meatball recipe in our family got passed down from her. She is fabulous each and every day. Whenever you call, she’s always excited to hear from you and asks about every portion of your life.

Grammy

I’ve never seen anyone so excited to meet someone in their life. Ellie is Grammy’s first ever great-grandchild. There’s gotta be a lot of love there for a University of Florida to hold the cutest baby in the world who’s wearing a UGA onesie. She has remembered every birthday or milestone in my life. Plus, she can talk football with the best of them. I hope I stay as attuned with football!

I live a very blessed life to have so many beautiful, influential women guiding me. I can only hope that I can be half as lovely as these (and the many other impactful) women in my life. This Mother’s Day, don’t forget to tell the ladies who have molded you how grateful you are to have them.