Happy Mother’s Day to all mothers and mothers-to-be! Where would we be without mothers? We wouldn’t be here. They are so indispensable to life. Fathers too of course. Ideally, they are a team.

I’m interspersing in this post here my memories of my mom with some videos that give inspiring counsel for mothers or show inspiring stories of mothering.

Some of my favorite memories of my mom are the following:

-when I started kindergarten I remember my mom curled my hair often the night before school and then styled it the next morning to look wonderful with her artful touch.

-she also sewed almost all of my clothes for the first few years of my public school career. I have fond memories of the different jumpers, tops, and dresses she sewed for me. I felt like a princess going off to school with my beautiful hair and clothes.

-when I was 5-7 I had to have a series of doctor visits culminating in a surgery, where I was hospitalized for 2 weeks. My mom always coached me through theses visits and procedures, including injections with needles. I remember her distracting me one particular time in a doctor’s office, telling me to look at the USA map on the wall as the needle was about to go in, asking me where Nevada was. (Nevada was her home state.) I felt such a calming presence with her there.

-also in my young years ages 5-12 I saw my mom paint and create beautiful art. That set an example for me, cast a vision for me, and inspired me to be an artist. I drew a lot of pictures when young then put drawing aside to focus on other interests as I went through jr high, high school, and college. But that creative seed she planted in my heart by me watching her is finally blossoming forth as I’ve delved into learning to draw for the past 18 months or so. Eventually I will get into painting. I also always knew my mom studied art in college and graduated from college. Knowing that she graduated from college cast another vision for me to graduate from college, which I did.

-I remember living in Illinois when I was about 4, and it was that week between Christmas and New Year’s. I remember my mom playing with my older brother, who was 6, using a Batman toy and other action figures on the couch in the living room. That cast a vision for me to be OK with playing with my own children. I wish I had played more with my own children but felt like I hardly had the time, so I’m making up for it more by playing with my grandchildren.

-my mom read aloud to us. I remember her reading the picture books above and below, among many other books. When I was 8-9 we lived in upstate New York. My mom read aloud Little Women to my sisters and me at bedtime. That planted a seed in my heart for that book and others by Louisa May Alcott. (I have blogged a lot about that love, see all my posts here.)

-I remember helping my mom in her kindergarten class as an aide, getting high school credit, for my whole senior year. She has always had a special love for little children and helping them learn. It was fun to see how she organized her classroom and how much those little children adored her.

-My mom (and dad) paid for piano lessons for years starting in first grade, off and on till I graduated from high school, and violin lessons when I was in high school. I never knew she could also play the piano until I was a teen, because they were so busy with work and family responsibilities. (Then when I was an adult, mother of 5 maybe, I discovered that my dad can play the piano too!) I enjoy creating music to this day on piano, violin and organ, and credit for my parents for paying for my lessons. I am not a natural at music and would not have picked up on it on my own without lessons.

-I remember camping at Yellowstone with my family when I was about 10. I remember being inside the tent and my mom was setting up sleeping bags and cracked some kind of joke. That was the first time I realized my mom has a sense of humor.

-My mom has helped me out after the birth of each of my children, often being there in labor to give me moral support. It was so fabulous to go be there last August when I assumed that role and watched and helped my daughter during her labor and childbirth, and then babysit my older grandchildren afterwards, just like my mom did for me.

-When I was in the throes of young motherhood living in Layton UT with seven children at home my mom would randomly offer to come visit and help out with my kiddos. She has babysat for me through the years at her home too. I so much appreciate the breaks she gave me.

So thank you mom for guiding me through the years and helping me so much when I became a mom!

Here are some encouraging videos above and below for your mothering journey! Mothers have so much influence by setting down habits for their children for life. I’ve never wanted to be a CEO of a company or any other high-powered career outside the home because I knew I had all the power I wanted for eternity being a wife and mother. I have enjoyed being joint CEO with my husband of our family, with the high-powered career of being a Queen and Mother in my home.

Here are some mothers I spotlighted last year who have made tremendous difference as mothers, following the natural seasons of a mother’s life.

Here is my review of one of my favorite inspiring books for mothers, A Lantern in Her Hand.