My mom

For one of my school assignments, I had to write about someone who has most influenced me. The writing isn't perfect, so don't judge. :)

My most influential person so far in my life is my mother. My mother is everything that I could ever want to be. She is loving, kind, caring, respectful, fun, creative the list could go on. But something that I have really admired and that has influenced me a lot is how she treats my dad. She has taught me so many things, half of the things she doesn’t even know, but because of her example it has influenced and taught not only me, but my siblings. Her marriage advice and her experience has influenced me especially in my first 8 months of being married. She always is thinking of other people and thinking of what others need. She has taught piano lessons for 30 years and continues to, has a full time job and was the Relief Society President of our church. That in itself is a crazy load, not including having a family that she has to care for and make dinner for. She taught me how to serve, be Christ like and loving.  The women who has barely any extra time at all, and when she did, it was spent going to things and providing for her children.

She has been to countless dance, piano, other sport events just for me, not including my 4 other siblings. I was on the High school dance team so we had practice every morning at 5:45. Before I had my license, she was the one to drive me. She was the one to be up, get me breakfast and get me on my way.  She was the one to put my false eyelashes and makeup on for many performances. She had no idea how to do the stage makeup, but she found a way and did it amazingly because that is the type of person she is. She has influenced me to be a good mother in the future and to support your children in whatever they want to do. Every one of my siblings and I had different interests, and somehow she was to every event. She showed me that her family and our religion, were the most important things to her. That impacted me and influenced me more than anything else. I was not the easiest child, especially in my teen years and she did nothing but serve and love me. It is times now, when my husband and I may not see things eye to eye, but I think about how my mom and I didn’t see eye to eye on everything, but what did she do,  was she served and loved me unconditionally.

She was the one to teach me how to love, especially in a committed and serious relationship. I can always turn to my mom and she has the greatest advice. Marriage isn’t easy, and you have to work at it every day, so I call her about every day, but she always has something to help me in things that she has learned through her own experiences, or things she has read. She is so knowledgeable about relationships. She has taught me that my husband and I are a team, we need to treat each other as a team, and play together as a team, not bicker and break our team up.

Except for my husband, she has been my rock since I have moved to Missouri. My husband and I moved out here a week after we got married, and we knew no one. My husband goes to grad-school, so that takes up a good chunk of his time.  So I go to my mom for a lot of things that I am feeling and she gives me support and comfort. One of the most influential things she has taught me was I can do anything with the Lords help. I need to do all that I can, to get guidance. I know that this is a school assignment so there shouldn’t be much about religion, but my mother most influenced me in ways of our religion. Of making our religion a part of who we are in everyday life. When we moved here, we were a minority in regards of religion. She always sends e-mails saying “You are a light on a hill and you shine girl”. She always has our best intentions at heart and always wants us to be great.

            She has influenced me in being friendly. She always has a smile, and loves to interact with others. Her friendly gestures have influenced me here living in Missouri, where I don’t know anyone, but with a simple smile, that can go a long way. You can ask anyone in our neighborhood or family members and they can say that they truly love Tracie, without a doubt and she loves them. She just has that way about her and I hope to be like that one day.

My mom had to plan 5 weddings in 4 years. It just happened to be that all of my siblings and I got married very close to each other. Her life for those 4 years were wedding, nothing but wedding. She lost sleep over what the tables or the cake table would look like. It shows how she is so selfless. That is a trait that not very many people have nowadays. That is something that you have to work on, but when you do, you can be someone like my mom. She is so inspirational. After my wedding, we came home for Christmas 6 months later and she had made a queen size quilt, and had done my scrapbooks from when I was a baby to my wedding all in that short time. My dad said that when she had extra time, it was that. She spent countless hours working on things for me and my siblings.

My siblings now have kids of their own, and whenever she has a time to be with her grandkids she will. It has influenced me in showing that hard work pays off. She goes to work all week, then because of her hard work, she can go to my sibling’s house and play with the kids for the weekend, then it is back to work. . She was the one to push all of my siblings and me on piano. She was the one that taught us that if we want something great to come out of something, we have to put in effort.

This is one of the ways that she may not have meant to teach me, but it is just something that has happened. Just a way that her example and her life has influenced and changed me. Because of her hard work, it has given me a lot of opportunities to try and do things that I wouldn’t have been able to do before. I wouldn't have been able to do dance for 2 years, or be in band, be in the madrigals etc. Her hard work influenced me in more than one way.

The most important thing that she has influenced me, is how she treats my dad. I have never seen or heard her raise my voice at him, of course they get in little arguments here and there like any couple does, but I have never heard either one of them raise their voice, say mean things about each other. She has taught me that a wife is someone who loves, cherishes her husband and does everything in their power to make a marriage happy and successful on their part.

To say my mom has influenced me a little bit is an understatement. I have learned everything I know from her. Her example of love, service and hard work have shaped who I am and have influenced me beyond measure. I love my mom to the moon and back and am so grateful for her seeing her potential early, and doing everything she knew she could do to make mine and my sibling’s life perfect.

I LOVE YOU MOM!!!

My moms pride and joy!