My Mother

I thought of a most interesting memory of my mother the other day that I thought I would share. It was my senior year in High School. I only had 2 classes that year I could take so the rest of the day I was a teacher's aide in the first grade. I was also in an honors English Class that was possibly one of the most fun classes I have ever had in my public education. During one grading period we were challenged to read 35 novels. We were tested on several of them every week. One Thursday afternoon I found out we would be tested on Grapes of Wrath the next day. I had thought I had another week. I came home and didn't know what I was going to do! I told mom that I would just have to fail that test. I had gotten 99 or 100 on ever test up that point and she really didn't want me to blow it completely. She offered to read it with me. So we started reading that afternoon. I read while she fixed dinner, she read while I cleaned up dinner and then we read to each other - reading every other chapter. We finished at 3:15 a.m. I had to get up at 6:30 for seminary and my test was the first class in the morning. I got 100% on it! I did better on it than I did on the ones I had read on my own! I realize now Mom was just coming out of a bad bout with her ongoing illness but she still did that for me. It was an amazing act of love.

I have a fairly high threshold for pain but I decide that is where the pain is. I have never hurt so bad as I have since this knee surgery. But I also have bone bruises to recover from (they scraped the bones of all the junk that has built up because arthritis) plus the invasion of the muscle from the surgery. I talked to them about this yesterday and they told me I would not be totally pain free for 3 months. I don't care totally pain free - just agonizingly pain free would be fine with me. That they promised at 4 weeks. When the outside bruises are gone - about a week later the inside bruises will be better. To make matters better - I stubbed my toe this morning!

I know there must be a reason for this. I do know my Heavenly Father loves me and I am grateful He sent me to this earthly family. More than ever I am grateful for my testimony of the Gospel and Atonement of Jesus Christ.