My Mom Shigeko

This is crazy family / friends' birthday period for me. I promise I will get back to the guiding principles of this blog (sarcasm and-- well, I guess I should reword that as 'guiding principle') in due time.

My mom's (affectionately known by my friends by her first name, 'Shigeko' -- something I would never actually call her to her face) birthday is 5 May -- that's right, Cinco de Mayo. Which really would be a source of even more ethnic pride to me, only she is not Mexican, and neither am I. She is Japanese. We'll just chalk it up to the 1 in 365 chance that her birthday would fall on 5 May and leave it at that, I suppose.

I can not do this justice here, but I can give you the tip of the iceberg.

With some help, mom (along with pops, of course) played the largest role in raising me. For that I will always be grateful and indebted. Some of my first distinct memories were of mom sitting down with me and teaching me to do math -- surprise surprise -- and read. She wanted me to receive an education because she knew I would have opportunities growing up that she did not. She wanted me to succeed, and, like other Parents that I have, saw (and continues to see) potential in me that I lose sight of myself sometimes.

Mom was called as Relief Society President in my teen years. She probably doesn't know this, but it's watching her serve in that calling with total dedication and love for the people she had stewardship over that taught me the most about charity and truly caring for those around us. When I would get frustrated as a missionary in Japan, those unintentional lessons gave me perspective. Mom's courage to be the first member of the Church in her area of Japan as a teenager encouraged me to see each person I talked to in Japan as someone that had the same potential as my mom. That always gave me hope.

She is an excessive spoiler of grandchildren (and me, according to my sisters), a fixer of many of my various problems, service-oriented, a dedicated educator, a do-it-all stay-at-home wife/mom, a great listener, and a constant encourager.

Most importantly, mom tells me what I need to hear, especially when she knows it's not necessarily what I want to hear. Frustrating to me sometimes, but stepping back from it all, that is one of the truest signs of love that I will ever know of.

Thanks for everything, mom! Hope you have a great birthday.