I have the Meanest Mother in Whole World

Today is Mother's Day and in honor of my mother, June, and my mother-in-love, Sally (who passed away in 1999) I am going to post an excerpt from an old letter submitted to Dear Abby many years ago. I hope everyone who reads this is as lucky as I am to have "the meanest mom in the whole world".... this describes my raising perfectly.

Dear Abby: Was your Mom mean? I know mine was. We had the meanest mother in the whole world! While other kids ate candy for breakfast, we had to have cereal, eggs, and toast. When others had a Pepsi and a Twinkie for lunch, we had to eat sandwiches. And you can guess our mother fixed us a dinner that was different from what other kids had, too. Mother insisted on knowing where we were at all times. You'd think we were convicts in a prison. She had to know who our friends were and what we were doing with them. She insisted that if we said we would be gone for an hour, we would be gone for an hour or less.We were ashamed to admit it, but she had the nerve to break the Child Labor Laws by making us work. We had to wash the dishes, make the beds, learn to cook, vacuum the floor, do laundry, empty the trash and all sorts of cruel jobs.I think she would lie awake at night thinking of more things for us to do. She always insisted on us telling the truth,the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. By the time we were teenagers, she could read our minds and had eyes in the back of her head. Then, life was really tough! Mother wouldn't let our friends just honk the horn when they drove up. They had to come up to the door so she could meet them. While everyone else could date when they were 12 or 13, we had to wait until we were 16. Because of our mother we missed out on lots of things other kids experienced. None of us have ever been caught shoplifting, vandalizing other's property or ever arrested for any crime. It was all her fault. Now that we have left home, we are all educated, honest adults. We are doing our best to be mean parents just like Mom was. I think that is what's wrong with the world today. It just doesn't have enough mean moms!

Thanks Momma, for being the best "meanest" mom in the whole world. For teaching me how to be lady. For teaching me that God loves me no matter what. For teaching me that I was worth waiting for. For teaching me how to be a "mean" mom. It is not always convenient to do the right thing as a parent and be consistent, but it pays off in the end. Thanks Sally, for Steve. Without you he would have never been, never come into my life, been my husband, my children's father, my everything. I love you, Moms. Thanks for the footsteps you left for me to follow. You both have big shoes to fill.