Tuesday, 10 May 2011

Look at us 20 years later....

Twenty years ago (May 11th) I married great funny, loving, sometimes moody, wonderful guy! 

Chris and I got married when I was 18 and he was 21.  Young you say, yes we were.  We had got engaged in December and planned on marrying in 1992 but then in January we found out that we were going to have a baby and to say we decided to move up the wedding date would not be totally true.  I think it was actually my dad who decided we were getting married before the baby came.LOL

I actually remember the night it was decided...my mom on the phone with Chris' mom talking dates, me in my room doing homework and Chris in St. Andrews at college.  Mom came in said May 11th is good for everyone call Chris!  So I did and my actual words were "Hey babe do you have anything planned for May 11th?"  He didn't so the date was set!

Chris and I had dated for almost 2 years when we got engaged but had known each other for years.  His grandparents were our neighbours until I was 14.  Then when I was 16 we started hanging out and then dating.  I remember one night after only dating for about a month, he was taking me home and he said "I think I'm going to marry you, Erica!"  I just smiled and thought to myself weirdo, I'm 16 and have no plans of being married until after college!LOL  Little did I know...how right he was!

Many, many people did not think that we would last 5 years (because of how young we were) let alone 20.  I can honestly say that without our famlies, my parents and grandparents and Chris' parents I don't know that we would have made it this long.  They have been so amazing, loving and giving to us.  We are both very lucky to have them to look to for guidence and support.

I'm very lucky that Chris chose me as his wife.  He is everything I have ever wanted and needed.  He makes me laugh...every night during Golding Girls (which he watches only because I like it, he hates that show) there is this one Family Guy commerical where the dog farts and every night it cracks him up and has for over a year!  He is always the life of the party where ever we go and he would do anything for anyone that asked.  He is the rock that I lean on and he is always there for me...from calming me down after Ryan's accident and telling me he would be ok, to holding my hand from the time I found my Dad had passed away and I don't think he let go that whole week to waiting up for me to get home until 3:30 am the night Nannie died so he could hold me when I cried!  He is a wonderful dad to the boys (he doesn't always have the patiences he would like but then again neither do I!) and loves our grandson more then words can say.

I'm not saying that the past 20 years have all been wonderful and that we haven't had our issues, but we always manage to work them out. He still calls me everyday from work to see how my day is going and after 20 years he doesn't leave the house or go to bed without a kiss and an "LOVE YOU"!  I think that says something!   And I if I had it to do all over again I wouldn't change a thing! :)

Thursday, 5 May 2011

Greatest Mom in the World

As Mother's Day approaches I'm sure everyone has the same feelings that they have the greatest Mom in the world!  And for each of you I'm sure you do.  But for me I feel I am truly blessed to have my Mom as a Mom.  She is the greatest!!

I had probably the best childhood anyone could have ever dreamed of having.  Not for the reasons that anyone who knew me as a child probably thinks, was I spoiled, YES (I honestly don't think I ever wanted for anything, one of the advantages of being an only child!) but much more important I was spoiled with love!  Not only did I know I was loved by my parents but I felt it every single minute of everyday and still do!  To grow up feeling and knowing that was amazing. 

Another thing that my Mom did was always made me feel like I was the most important person in the world.  She still does that too :) 

She gave me the best memories growing up.  Here are just a few...
When I was 11 for Christmas my parents got us a Beta video recorder, up until then we had only rented them on the occassionally weekend (yes I said Beta!).  So for New Year's Eve they were having few people in, including my Aunt Gale and Uncle Paul which meant Laurie would be there too. (growing up we were together lots as we lived beside each) so Mom took Laurie and I to rent some movies for us to watch on New Year's Eve.  She let us get Friday the 13th and Porky's!  It was great.   We probably didn't understand everything in Porky's but we sure thought we were cool cause we got to watch it!  And after watching Friday the 13th it was weeks before Laurie could walk home at night alone!!

Another memory that I still think about is the "Haunted Tree".  Mom use to take Laurie and I for walks to Earla's for ice cream.  Down by Pugh's Crossing there use to be an old tree that we thought was scary (I'm not sure why we thought it was scary but we did!) and Mom use to tell it was haunted and that's why the couldn't cut it down.  Laurie and I never walked on the same side of the road as that tree, even as we got older and supposely smarter we still always crossed the road when we came to that tree!  It has since been cut down, probably because it was haunted!!!LOL

One of the greatest things she did for me was how she and my Dad handled their divorce.  Yes at first there were rocky times but after they both made it so easy.  I never had to choose between them, they didn't put me in the middle and I never had to have 2 birthdays or Christmas' for the boys because they had no issues being in the same room and never made anyone uncomfortable.  Maybe Dad was alittle uncomfortable when Mom and Debbie would sit together and talk!LOL

Then when Dad got sick, she was amazing that summer!  She would go get Dad and take him for drives, she was the last person to take him to the place he loved the camp, when he was in the hospital she would sit with him, when I had to take him in the middle of the night to the hospital she would meet us there to be there for me and ask the doctors the questions I couldn't or didn't think of.  And when Dad died she dropped everything to help me and Grampie plan his funeral and to be there for both of us.  I don't know what we would have done with out her. 

She is always there for me and everyone she knows from going to a Tina Tuner concert with orange hair because the dye didn't work but she promised me we could go, to standing in line for a Cabbage Patch Doll for someone who didn't have one, to giving money to someone for expensive medicine when they didn't have medical insurance, to going and getting Nannie at York Manor and taking her to MacDonald's for a cheeseburger all of which no one would have expected her to do but she did anyways.  I think my Mom is the greatest!

Everyone always says that once you become a mother you have a great appreication for your own Mom and I believe that to be true but now that I'm a Grandmother I think I appreciate her even more I find myself telling her "Oh Mom if I did that to you I'm so sorry, you were right and I was wrong!"  But I always hope that she feels I love and appreciate her even if I don't always show it!

I thank God every day that he decided she should be my Mom.  I only hope that I'm half the Mom she is and that I have giving my kids the unconditional love and support that she has given to me.  I hope that as they get older that they have as many wonderful memories of us together as I have with my Mom.

So to everyone who has lost their Mom, I can't even think of what that would be like and how hard Mother's Day is for you.  But to everyone who still has their Mom cherish her and make sure she knows how much you love her everyday and remember it's not the gifts you give her on Mother's Day it's the love and time you give her everyday!

Happy Mother's Day Mom....love you very much!