The Best Mom in the World

You're the BEST MOM in the World Because You Inspire Me to Do My Best. There is no influence so powerful as that of the mother. SARAH JOSEPHA HALE Encourage one another and build each other up. 1 THESSALONIANS 5:11 You know the importance of the friendships your children form. Friends with character, integrity, and a good moral compass will encourage the growth of these positive traits in your child. On the other hand, friends who display selfish behavior or rebelliousness will likely influence your child in a negative way. In the same way, you are affected by your associations with others. What kinds of influences do you surround yourself with? It can be easy to fall into social settings in which complaining about husbands, children, and the demands of motherhood is the normal topic of choice. Spending too much time in these settings can have an ill effect on your attitude and can even lower the expectations you have for yourself. But aligning yourself with other moms who have similar values and hold themselves to a high standard can be a great source of inspiration and encouragement to you as you seek to become a person of excellence. A LETTER TO MY MOM Dear Mom, Now that I have children of my own, I'm beginning to realize what a challenge it is to find the balance between encouraging them to continually strive to do better and instilling confidence in them and letting them know that I'm happy with their best efforts. I'd like to know your secret, because you've always seemed to know just how to do that with me. In school, of course you wanted me to make straight A's, but if I'd truly done my best and gotten a B or a C, I didn't have to be afraid to tell you. You let me know that you wanted my best, not perfection. Even though I wasn't the best athlete, no one in the bleachers looked prouder than you, and knowing that pushed me to keep trying and improving. Thank you, Mom, for being my inspiration. Love, Your Child Why I'm Thankful You're My MOM... ...You never tired of practicing words with me the night before the spelling bee. My mother was the making of me. She was so true and so sure of me; and I felt I had someone to live for, someone I must not disappoint. The memory of my mother will always be a blessing to me. THOMAS EDISON CREATIVE MOTHERING Eve Eschner Hogan When I was a little girl, I was lying on my bed in the middle of the day with my door closed and nothing to do. Well, it wasn't exactly like there was nothing to do; it was just that nothing sounded like fun. I didn't feel like playing with my dolls or cleaning my room or even reading a book, even though I loved to read. I don't know what possessed me, but suddenly my big clean white sheet was calling out to me as if it were a large blank canvas, and I looked around my room until I found a pen. Since this was back in the sixties -- the era of flower power and paisley prints -- I began decorating my sheets. A vivid arrangement of flowers, stars, spirals, swirls, snails, and mushrooms began to emerge from beneath my pen. I don't know exactly how much time had passed, but some time later I paused only to find myself happily lying in the midst of all of my favorite doodles. After carefully inspecting my creation, I continued, adding a few finishing touches to the antennae of a snail and a heart or two on the wings of a butterfly. Obviously, this was somewhat akin to drawing on the walls, and not likely something I was supposed to do, but in my young mind, it would probably come out in the laundry so I didn't think it was a big deal. How wrong I was! It was a BIG deal. There I was, contentedly drawing away when the door to my room suddenly opened. I must have been too quiet in there, and Mom decided she had better check on me. I looked up, guilty as could be. My cheeks flushed as I dropped the pen, knowing thatHoward Books Staff is the author of 'The Best Mom in the World', published 2008 under ISBN 9781416556497 and ISBN 1416556494.