My Mother

My mother Melanie Elkins, with my daughter Didi in 2008

In honor of Mother's Day, I wish to take a few minutes right now to write down some of my favorite memories with my mother, so everyone can know what a wonderful woman she is.  Here they are, in random order.

One of my favorite memories with mom is of us sitting together at Bob's Root Beer, a drive-up restaurant in Fallon, Nevada.  Out of the blue one day, she asked me to go with her to Bob's Root Beer, just the two of us, because she wanted to give me a special treat.  While we were there, enjoying our root beer floats (which were made with fresh original-recipe root beer and ice cream and were to die for), I asked her why we were there.  I didn't get to go on many dates with Mom, so I found it kind of confusing as to why she had chosen this outing for us.  I asked her, "Why are we here, Mom?"  She said it was just because I had been doing a lot of babysitting for her and helping her a lot around the house lately, and she wanted to say "thank you" in an extra special way.  I didn't realize what I had done had made an impact.  Her gratitude was humbling, and I was impressed by her taking those extra measures to show me her appreciation.  I felt loved.

I remember Mom making chore charts for us kids out of felt smiley faces.  I always loved her creativity, her crafts, and her beautiful handwriting on projects such as those.  With six kids in the house, we had lots of clutter everywhere all the time, but Mom did her best to teach us through creative methods how to organize a home.  I love remembering those crafty charts.

That reminds me of the sacrament meeting quiet games she made for us kids once.  She made big round clown faces and face parts out of felt, and we were each given our own envelope with a kit inside.  We got to mix and match the different shaped eyes, noses, and mouths as we knelt on the sacrament meeting floor, using the pew as our table.  I'm sure it kept us quiet for just a few minutes, but surely not long enough.

I remember Mom's bed prizes.  She would leave a candy reward under our pillows on random, unexpected days, if we had made our bed that day.  That went on for quite some time, and I'm sure we made our beds a lot more because of it.

I remember Mom being my leader at Young Women's Girls' Camp.  She asked for my help in planning our skit.  I remember my idea, but it wasn't as good as hers--she had us dance and sing to "The Silly Song."  I think that song came from a movie or something.  It was lots of fun, and uplifting.  I found out years later that it was hard for her to do the camp week with us, even to accept the calling, but she did it, and I'm glad we were there together.

I remember when I was a teenager trying to figure out my testimony of the gospel.  My bishop advised me to ask my parents to share their own experiences with me.  So Mom and I were in the car together one day, and I asked her to tell me about how she got her testimony.  She told me that for her it wasn't simply a "given," as I had thought it had been for her.  And, best of all, she told me that if I wasn't ready to believe on my own yet, I could lean on her testimony until I was ready.  I did.

Mom used to buy all of her clothes at thrift stores.  By the time I was a teenager, I decided that thrift store clothes weren't good enough for my own closet anymore.  Still, I liked to borrow other people's clothes all the time, including hers.  So when she saw something at the thrift store that she thought I would like to wear, knowing that if she offered it to me I would just reject it because of where it came from, she would buy it and just plant it in her own closet for me to find later.  I would find it there in her closet, and ask to borrow it.  Mission accomplished :).  Pretty sly, mom!

I loved singing with my mom in the ward choir, since I was somewhere around 9 or 10 years old.  I used to listen to her pretty voice and try to copy her vibrato.  I eventually figured it out ;).  And, I have her (and dad) to thank for all of the voice lessons they afforded me in high school.  Thanks, Mom and Dad!  Oh, and there were even a few fun times when Mom and I got to sing duets at church events, like Sunday meetings or a Relief Society program or something.  Those were cool.

Mom is a great seamstress.  She used to sew all of my underwear as a little girl, and also made lots of great outfits and dresses for me over the years.  LOTS.  Almost all of my prom dresses were hand-made by her, and they were super super gorgeous.  I'm sorry about all the whining and complaining I did during the design processes and regarding the deadlines.  I know that was hard on her.  I also LOVED the pajamas she used to make for us--especially my gum ball machine nightgown.

Mom got a college education in Art.  Of all of the creative projects she used to do, one of my favorites that she did was to make and sell porcelain dolls.  The ones that looked and felt (in your arms) like real babies were the best.  She let me paint my own doll head once too.  That was awesome.

Mom did not love to cook, but she made really yummy dinners and treats.  Shepherd's pie, scones, chinese rice, what nuts (deep fried wheat with seasoning), homemade bread, homemade granola, no-bake cookies, non-chocolate chip chocolate chip cookies (better than no cookies at all, right?), and homemade fruit leather were some of my favorite foods that she made.  Oh, and she was an incredible cake decorator!

Mom always had a good grasp on what was most important in life.  In the times when I was overwhelmed with my life, she always had experiences to share with me that helped me gain perspective and know everything would work out okay.  "I failed a class once, and it was okay," she said.  "I broke off an engagement once. I know how much it hurts," she said.  "I remember when my mom and dad didn't let me do such and such, and I didn't understand that then either," she would say.  She is a great friend and mentor.  Now I can talk to her about my motherhood woes, and she had stories to share with me about that too.  I am so grateful she's always there for me.

I remember Mom used to put classical music on in the house early Sunday mornings to wake us lazy kids up, and to bring the Spirit into the home sometimes.  She is a very peaceful person, and I appreciate that she helped bring peace to my life in lots of different ways.  Now when I have the all-too seldom occasion to spend time with her, I know we're going to have a great time relaxing, talking, working together, and laughing, because she's just a joy to be around.

I love my mom.  Love, LOVE, LOVE.  I hope I get to see her again soon, because sometimes the phone and letters just aren't enough.

Happy Mother's Day, Mom!!

Love forever,

Your Jenny