Thank You, Mama!!

Today is my Mama's birthday. So I thought I would share a few stories about her and try to explain why she is so important and special to me.

Last month we had a Christmas party at work. It was a "pot luck" of sorts, with everybody bringing a homemade dish to share. I brought a couple jars of my garden's green beans, and some home made corn pudding. After we got done eating, my bosse's husband was heard to say, "Amanda's mama musta taught her a few things before she threw her out of the house. That girl can cook."

While I do enjoy cooking and like to think I have a knack for it, I certainly cannot credit myself with any talent that I may have. My mama taught me everything I know.

Growing up, my sister and I would help her prepare supper. We rolled homemade pasta, chopped vegetables and peeled potatoes. As we got older, my sister and I were in charge of preparing hearty breakfasts for the family to fuel us for a hard day on the farm. We fried eggs, made sausage gravy and coffee cakes. On rare occasions, mama would make homemade donuts and we would help her dunk them in big bowls of vanilla glaze.

Mama taught us how to bake her amazing homemade bread. There was a time when my incredibly hard-working mama made over 100 loaves of bread a week to sell at the farmer's market. I think it is safe to say she's an expert in that field. I still can't quite make bread like hers. Yeasty, wheaty and soft, there's nothing quite like mama's homemade bread right out of the oven.

There's nothing like mama's fried chicken, either. (Yes, fried in a cast-iron skillet!) After trying to copy her recipe by memory and failing miserably, I made a phone call, asking for advice. Mama took the time to send me an email with the directions to her amazing fried chicken and light-as-air homemade biscuits. While still not as good as mama's, my next attempt was a lot better.

Lessons learned from mama weren't just from the kitchen. While we sat on the front porch snapping green beans for canning or took a long walk down the back roads, mama taught us more than I can ever thank her for. In my teens, I often thought she was wrong and I was right, but looking back, I shake my head and smile. Mama was right after all!

Mama taught us to value hard work and have fun too. We worked hard, but never went a day without stopping for some well-deserved fun. After a hard day unloading hay or butchering chickens, we would often stop for an ice-cream treat, or even a minute on the front porch with a tall glass of sweet tea. In the summer time we would have hot-dog roasts in the field, sitting around a bonfire until dark. My sister and I would catch marshmallows on fire while mama and papa looked on and laugh at our antics.

Growing up on the farm, we learned to have faith in God. Just watching our parents taught us that. Being a farmer requires a large amount of faith to begin with. Droughts, too much rain, wind storms, or cold snaps could ruin an entire crop. I remember my Papa and mama praying for rain before every meal one summer when a drought parched the entire county. I found a certain comfort in their prayers, and I learned to pray too. Even as a young'un, I knelt by my bedside and prayed for rain. And sure enough, it always rained. Maybe not exactly when we thought we needed it, but God always provided for us.


But most of all, I thank my mama for always being there. Somehow she managed to balance being a mom, a counsellor, and a friend. When I was eight and couldn't sleep due to a bad dream, she would sit next to me and stoke my hair until I fell asleep again. when I was 14 and worried about my future, she reminded me to have faith in God. When I was 17 and all i wanted was a purple ribbon at the fair with my market lambs, she took time out of her busy schedule to be there for help and support. When I was 18 and some boy broke my heart, she told me it was okay to be sad, but that I deserved better. When I turned 20, I met the man of my dreams and we got married. And where was mama? Still there, willing to offer advice when needed, but never pushing her opinions on me. And I know, even though I live in a different end of the county now, whenever I need her, Mama is there. Thank you, Mama.

And Thank God for Mama!