Thanks Mom

 

For those of you who never got to meet my mom, Carolyn (Shimerka) Stanislav, you missed out. She really was a wonderful person, and I’m not just saying that because she was my mom. 

When I reflect on who she was, it makes me smile and realize how blessed I was that she was MY mom. It’s often validated by what other people tell me about her and the impressions she made on other people’s lives. 

Mom taught me so many more things than I realized. Mom’s been gone for a while now, but what she taught me keeps showing up. Parenting is a great example. I feel that my style of parenting is similar to her. She showed us kids unconditional love. She was a momma bear no doubt, but she let us be kids. She let us get hurt as we explored our abilities…but also stopped us from going too far into the danger zone. 

She comforted us and did what she could to help get us started on the right path. Many things I’m picking up now are about how she lived. She was part of the community. She was involved in everything. She was dependable and she worked hard. 

She knew how to have fun, but, from what I remembered, was also respectable. Something I’m still trying to learn. She took care of other people who were not her kids or her family. She truly cared about them. She was always giving and thoughtful.

Her faith was very important to her. She went to church every Sunday. I didn’t know this till later in life, but she read her bible often. I have it and she has notes and highlights in it. Her faith in God is why my faith is so strong. 

She gave me a Jesus Calling book and asked me to read it. My faith wasn’t as strong back then, but I read it because I knew it would make her happy…heck when I was Catholic I went to church partially to make her happy. But that book changed me and I started seeing faith the way Mom saw it. Mom was no angel…none of us are, but it was my love for her and knowing faith was important to her that kept me close to Faith. 

As I read that Jesus Calling book, my faith grew. I started reading the Bible and now I feel my faith is on solid ground. I truly owe a big part of it to Mom, and it's changed my life. It’s changed how I look at things, how I act and react. Mom’s teachings continue to be a part of my life, which is why my love for my Mom continues to grow. 

I was blessed with a great Mom who set me up to find happiness in life, to handle the hard times and to give more than I receive…and be completely happy about it. 

I miss mom almost every day, but she’s always with me. I do believe that she is one who is truly in heaven thanks to her faith, and part of my goal is to see her again someday.