I love my mom. And, when I grow up, I hope I can be like her. Patient. Humble. Genuine. Joyful. Selfless. Steady. Smart. Fun. Involved.
Above all else, she is quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry (James 1:19). Because of those qualities, I can look back at my life and see the humor my "know-it-all" attitude has added to her life over the years. Here are a few examples:
When I was in grade school, I wanted my name to be “Jill Smith”. Nothing misspelled, nothing mispronounced. Do you know how many ways there are to spell LeAnne? Leann. Leeanne. Lian. Leanne. LeAnn. Leighann. Leigh Ann. Lee Anne. And, whatever way my grandma chose for that year's birthday card.
- I will never give my child a name that can be spelled more than 1 way.
- What did I do? Named my kids Kaitlin, Connor, and Kylie.
And, while I didn’t consider my last name anyone’s “fault”, I could never figure out why “Ivaska” was so hard for people to spell or pronounce.
- I can’t wait to have an easier last name!
- What did I do? Married a Klopfenstein.
When I was a senior in high school, I was determined to go to Ithaca and study journalism.
- I am going as far away as possible. I would never go to college around here!
- What did I do? Went to University of Iowa--2 hours away. Completed my last 3 semesters of college at Bradley--and lived at home.
When I was 17, my mom said to me, “What is your future husband going to think about how messy you keep your closet?”
- My closet will be clean when I’m married. That has nothing to do with how I keep my closet now.
- No comment (Although, I really wish I had responded with “I’ll marry someone who doesn’t care about the mess in my closet” because then I'd have gotten it right).
I’m the oldest of 4. And, with 4 kids in the house, I was called Laurel, Joel, or Mark more than once.
- I will never call my kids by the wrong name!
- Sigh.
So, for all the times I erred and my mom's silence--and patience--proved her to be correct, I'm glad she put up with me. And, I hope I can give my kids the same chance to look back and see that mom was right, after all.
