Karen Nelson is my mom, or momoo as I lovingly nicknamed her in a moment of hyper giddiness.

My momoo is a very remarkable lady - she had to be to raise my siblings and me. She went through a lot with us in the early years since we were each 13 months apart and I don’t think any of us were easy children. I think she still probably goes through a lot with each of us. Mom, in case you don’t hear it enough, THANK YOU!

When I think about my mom one of the first things I think about is how supportive and loving she is towards my dad. For all of my life that I can remember my mom has been the real force behind my dad. She listens to his ideas and supports them and she then helps make them happen. She has spell checked probably thousands of letters/emails for him over the years as well as handling a majority of his other secretarial work for decades. But, more than that she really supports my dad with the attitude she takes towards him. You can clearly tell that she really respects him and adores him. I have almost never heard my mom say anything negative about my dad and she doesn’t allow other people to say anything negative about him when she’s around either. She sticks up for him and supports him in every way and I admire that a lot.

The next thing I think of when I think of my mom is FUN. My mom is one of the funniest, most spontaneous, and mischievous people I know. I have this vivid memory of my mom coming home from a walk with her good friend, Shelley, having decided that it was high time they took us kids toilet papering (I was about 9, I think). So, my mom and her friend had us kids dress all in black (so that we could hide better) and took us toilet papering. She taught us different things we could do when a car came (run to the side walk and act like you are walking, lay flat on the grass, hid behind a bush, etc). She gave us a few rules (we couldn’t throw it too high in the trees and if we got caught we had to pick it up). And then she and Shelley toilet papered the whole neighborhood with us – we even did our own house to throw the neighbors off the track. It was so much fun! I will never forget it! My mom is also the person who taught me how to short sheet a bed, and freeze people’s underwear at sleepovers. She would always come up with these spontaneous fun games to play (like the time she made up the Oreo game and before long we all had Oreo cookies stuck to our foreheads). She was the cool, fun mom that made everyone laugh and always loved to party and have fun. I love that spontaneous, mischievous side of my mom.

My mom is also the one who taught me about Jesus. She did more than just take me to Sunday school, she talked about God with us kids and incorporated prayer and the Bible into a lot of what she did with us. My mom loves God and He is an integrated part of her life and I grew up seeing that. I grew up being a part of my mom’s walk with God and getting to see it firsthand. And for that I am really grateful.

My mom is a pretty awesome lady. And I am very grateful that she is the women God gave me as my momoo!

I love you, momoo!

May God continue to bless you and the work of your hands. May God bless you with health and long life – may you live to see your grandchildren’s children. May the joy you find in your marriage continue to increase year after year. May your joy be full and your love of life continually abound. May your laughter multiply in the years to come and spread to all who know you. May God bring you rest and peace in the years to come and bless you beyond what you could presently hope or imagine. Amen.

Rejoicing in the journey - Bethany Stedman

Photograph by Beth Stedman