The Person I'll Miss the Most

I am really going to miss my mother. She drives me crazy sometimes, but the truth is, she's my best friend. She's been there for me my whole life as a guide, a companion, a cheering fan, and especially as an inspiration.

Back in the sixties, when most women became nothing more than wives and mothers, my mother went to college. She spent her childhood dreaming of becoming a nurse and when she grew up, she did it. She has saved countless lives through her work, and made even more lives better just because she was there. She's in charge of several services now at Bronson, and she has served as president of her chapter of AORN. The woman's accomplishments could wallpaper a room.

When my mother was pregnant with me, she was also working full time, raising an eleven-year-old and a husband, helping to open a new surgical center, helping to maintain a farm, and carrying sixteen credit hours at Western Michigan University. I'd love to see any man attempt all that! And she not only did all that, she did it well. That's what astounds me even more about her.

My mother is an intelligent, hilarious woman who is artistic, loving, and creative. She can do so much! She not only knows a ton about everything nursing-related; she also gardens, sews, decorates, cooks (well, has the ability to anyway), and keeps the house in order. She also used to be an exellent shot with a gun, as I recall from the days when we lived in the country! She's amazing!

As an independant young Christian woman of the twenty-first century, I've seen so many other girls battling for identity, wondering exactly what we as women are capable of. Most of these girls have been hindered and limited by their mothers' perceptions of a Christian woman's place in society. I, however, have been liberated by the wonderful example set by my own mother and her vast understanding and intuition. I don't have to flounder about in lost confusion, or settle for an unfulfilling life as a man's doormat. My mother has kept me from that.

Every time I've lived on my own, I've found it an adventure. Great things and even some horrid things have happened to me. Through it all I've grown, matured, and become a better person. But each time, I've had to face the same pain: leaving Mom. I carry her with me in my heart, my mind, and even the way I greet each challenge, but I still miss her every time. I know that in Korea, I'll have the time of my life. But I also know I'll miss my mom every day, and that even with time, missing her won't cease.

Missing Mom is just a part of living. Loving her is, too.