Happy Mother's Day!

The most important person on earth is a mother. She cannot claim the honor of having built Notre Dame Cathedral. She need not. She has built something more magnificent than any cathedral--a dwelling for an immortal soul, the tiny perfection of her baby's body . . . The angels have not been blessed with such a grace. They cannot share in God's creative miracle to bring new saints to Heaven. Only a human mother can. Mothers are closer to God the Creator than any other creature; God joins forces with mothers in performing this act of creation . . . What on God's good earth is more glorious than this; to be a mother?

Joszef Cardinal Mindzenty (borrowed from my mother's blog)

Today's blog post is dedicated to my mother, Mary Ann Kreitzer and to my two grandmothers, Margaret Roselia Kreitzer and Margaret Grace Schneider.  Everything that I value in my life was handed on to me by you.  I love you and thank God for you.

 Alice & Mom celebrating one year

My wish today for everyone reading Frodo Seven is that you can say, "I have the best Mom in the whole world.  Thank you God!"  For those of you who honestly can't say that, please remember that one of Christ's greatest gifts to us was the gift of His mother.  Mary is our perfect mother who prays and intercedes for us.  May is her month and at the Doyle house, before sending off gifts to grandmothers or mothers, we gave our first flowers to her.

I am blessed to say that I have the best mom in the world.  I wouldn't have always said that.  I felt as misunderstood and unappreciated as most teenagers.  And when I looked around, the grass was always greener.  I wished for the "shopping" mom or the "best friend" mom.  As I grew older though, I began to appreciate my mom for exactly who she is and coincidentally, I do shop with my mom now and we are friends.  

There are a hundred and one things I love about my mom but I'll stick to these:

#1  My mom loves the little things.  If you go on a walk with her, she will point out every kind of bird and tree she sees by name.  I have no idea how she remembers them all but she gets it from her mother.  One of my favorite memories of my grandmother is of her sitting at the kitchen table a week before she died.  She was in a lot of pain but still took delight in watching the birds--which she could also name--at one of the many trays my parents put out around the house in the winter.  

My mom loves a good book and is the most well-read person I know.  She likes camping and hiking but most of all she loves home, a beautiful, three story "retreat center" that she and my dad bought so they could host their ten kids and kids-in-law as well as their 18 (and counting) grandchildren. 

#2  Mom is the master of food for a crowd.  Every meal at her table feels like a feast and my kids think Grandma is the best cook in the whole world.  I've often joked that my mom should have her own reality TV show called, "What's For Dinner?"  She can literally go into the fridge and assemble whatever hodgepodge is in there into a wonderful meal.  She hates to waste and will reuse everything until it's gone.  She's also comfortable inviting people to a meal on the spur of the moment and we constantly had guests at our table growing up.  There is no doubt that I get my love of entertaining and fellowship from her.

And #3  My mom knows her faith and lives it.  Growing up, she taught us bible stories and carried on Catholic traditions.  I love tradition and ceremony and at CD, we have a lot of both, thanks to my mom.

Most importantly though, Mom is courageous.  She stands and fights for what she believes.  For part of her life, that meant opening our home to unwed mothers and going to jail for defending babies.  Now, she writes a newsletter and a blog in defense of orthodox Catholicism (there's a link to her blog "Les Femmes" on the side of Frodo Seven).  I continue to learn a lot from her.  

Recently, when Madeleine and I were working on the questions for our mother-daughter book club, she told me that she wants to be like Grandma Kreitzer when she grows up.  She wants to fight for the babies.  The truth is she already does--in her classroom and with her friends who have never known a time when abortion wasn't legal.  She's a credit to her grandmother and I couldn't be more proud.

So, Mom--here's to you (I'm raising my glass--don't worry, it's 5 o'clock somewhere!).  More than anything, I am proud to be your daughter.  Happy Mother's Day!

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P.S. BREAKING NEWS!  Here's a special insert that the author didn't know about!  Madeleine surprised her Mom by sneaking this into her latest post without her knowledge.  We hope you enjoy Madeleine's tribute to her mother and a very happy day to mother's everywhere!  -CED

Hey everyone! Madeleine Doyle here. As most of you know today is MOTHER’S DAY! For all you people who forgot, well, good luck to you. Anyway, today I am highjacking my mom’s blog and writing about her.

            I’m not very good with words, but there are some things that need to be said about my mom, and who can say them better than her oldest daughter. We’ll just go through five things I love about her.

Five Things I Love About My Mother by Madeleine Doyle

1.     She is quick to laugh. I know, I know...most people are wondering, why did she put that as number one when there are so many more important things in a mother?However, I think that laughter is a great quality, one I inherited from both of my parents. Going through life with a smile on your face is an awesome gift to share with the world.

2.     She is always ready to help others. My mom has this big thing on never saying "never" and "always", but I think that this is an exception. She always thinks of others before herself and is very quick to help those in need.

3.     She is a WORSHIPER. Meaning she worships the one true God. Not some voodoo golden cow. She is very pro-life, thanks to her mother, and is very involved in the church. A couple of years ago she did an ACTS retreat and she recently helped with Grace’s CCD class. Go Mom!

4.     She loves her family. During the recent Presidential elections, Sarah Palin, the Republican vice-pres in-running,  said that the only difference between a hockey mom and a pit bull was lipstick. My mom can be the same way. She loves us to death. (Okay mom, let go now. People are looking…Mom!) And if someone tried to harm us, she would definitely go all ninja on him.

5.     She loves Life. My mom has to be one of the most exciting people to be around. It’s like playing with a tornado. One day she’ll be all calm and the next day she will be a category five. She loves holidays and planning parties. She is always there for my sisters and me whether it’s a piano recital or a swim meet in the front row cheering. Or taking pictures and drinking Diet Coke. 

Well, there you have it. It's funny I had a draft all written up, but when I started typing, it sort of just wrote itself. That’s what’s good about writing, you can never go wrong with it.  Okay, even in blogging I can rattle on. One last thing. I am truly blest that God has given me a mother who cares enough about me to share her faith and spirit with me. Oh, and her computer.  I got the Lottery of moms, the jackpot as some might say.  So once again God, thanks because my mom is just so COOL!

Love,

Your Minney!

P.S. Happy Mother’s Day everybody!