Mimi, Mimi, Mimi.
This is the name my kids and my sister’s kids call my mom.
This is also the name that all the kids in her daycare call her now.
Mimi is the name I hear whenever my own kids are upset or get hurt,
“I want Mimi.”
Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about my mom before she was Mimi:
I think of her every time I’m picking up the endless scatter or toys and bits of paper…and random socks
Suggesting things to do when kids get bored
When I’m at an odd angel and notice the dust in the corner or under a piece of furniture
Folding the always multiplying mountain of laundry
Responding to ungrateful requests
Giving time I don’t have
Packing lunches
Cheering people up
Listening to complaints about meals
Tucking in, over and over again
Thinking about all of the places everyone needs to be…with all of their stuff.
These are all of the things that I know I took for granted growing up.
I never realized all of the work that went into trying to keep up with us kids while we were growing up…
I realize it now. Hopefully not too late.
I see you Mom.
I’m grateful for you.
Happy Birthday to my giving, loving, and strong mom.
I love you.
Where There Is Joy 
We truly appreciate our mothers when we are mothers, especially when we are in the thick of it! Your mother is a hero, you are a hero! Two strong, kind Moms!!! Happy Birthday, Mimi!
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So glad your mom was that person for you, a wonderful role. Odel and now a beloved MiMi.
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Happy Birthday Mimi! Hope this was part of her present.
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What a beautiful post! I’m also blessed with a wonderful, always giving mom and I definitely have a new appreciation for her as I’ve embraced motherhood. Hope she has a wonderful birthday!
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What a beautiful ode to your mom.
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So lovely. The best thing is that she passed that on to you. Loving moms teach love.
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Happy birthday Mimi! I’m not sure any kids see/know/understand what moms do, but it gets internalized until it’s their turn. Love Julieanne’s point– Loving moms teach love.
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What a lovely, lovely poem to your wonderful mum, she sounds a real treasure and you are blessed!
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“Giving time I don’t have.” I hope you share this with you mom…and hope some day you get something like this from one of your girls.
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I hope your Mom gets to see this. A wonderful birthday present for her. Happy birthday to your mom.
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My mom, also Mimi, celebrated her birthday on Sunday. I agree with so much that is taken for granted. But then that is just a part of being a child in your own self absorbed world, not realizing until later that your parents were not there only to serve you, but to provide a model.
I especially love the part about random socks! Always, always there seem to be random socks – great to give them a playful purpose.
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Two amazing moms. Happy Birthday, Ida!
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Never too late. You now have the experience to really see what your mom did for you and your family. You have the lens to truly appreciate all that she is. Happy Birthday to your mom.
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I love your Mimi! Keep telling her until she knows with all of her heart what she has meant to the making of you. I love the specificity of the details in the list. What we do again and again is who we are. Behind each list item is what you value- is what you have learned to value because of your mom.
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