Happy Mothers Day

Growing up with our children...
 
Our daughters started teaching Bob and I about life the day they were born.  I had not reached my 21st birthday when the girls were born and being a young parent has its advantages.   
 
Nicki and Brandy were born in the small town of Elkhart, KS.  We like many young families did not have a lot of money, but we made the most with what we had.  We were a one-vehicle family, which is not such a bad thing in a small town as the girls and I were able to walk everywhere we wanted to go. 
 
 

I stayed home with Nicki and Brandy until they started school and we were a common site as we walked to story hour at the library, to the swimming pool for swim lessons, to the baseball fields for t-ball, or to the grocery store.   When we went to the park we all played on the swings, the merry-go round, or the slides.  This closeness never left and as the girls aged we all continued to do things together.
 
Once the girls entered school they got involved in everything, they liked playing sports, they liked school plays, they liked building floats, they became members of 4-H, and through all of this they volunteered us as sponsors.  All of the things Bob and I missed when we attended school, as we were to shy and awkward to get involved in, we now did as parents.  
 
Our girls are fun and each year as they got older we had more fun and we learned even more about ourselves.   When any one of us said yes to a project the rest of family became the support crew for that project.  Once the girls entered high school the fun really began.  My job allowed me to attend their activities and I was often on the road following them as they traveled to the many events they were involved in.  They rode home with me from these events and we spent hours on the road talking about anything and everything.
 

Nicki and Brandy have always been our biggest supporters and when we let them know that once they left for college we were also leaving home to drive a truck they were thrilled.  They were our encouragers to get involved and to grow ourselves.  Kind of backwards but it worked.
 
When we started our journey into trucking we did not realize how much closer this would make us as a family.   The girls live in different time zones and usually on their way to work or on their way home they call to talk about their day and see what we are doing.  We are there night and day able to answer the phone to hear about something exciting they have done or to let them pour their hearts out when they are frustrated.  We are a phone call away.
 

Brandy is in the military and has lived in several cities around the United States and she is always thrilled when we stop in for a visit.  Trucking has allowed us to spend time with her and at times her house being our home away from home.  We do not worry about taking a weeks vacation to spend with our children we see them several times a year. 
 
The fun part of trucking and our payback to them is that we almost always show up with a bag of dirty clothes, we raid their refrigerator, and if they have something pretty cool we often borrow it.  They now know what it was like when they came home from college. 
 

Mother’s day is a day I reflect back through the years of how amazing my girls are and how glad I am to call them daughters, my best friends, and also my advisors.  

Brandy - Linda Horseback competition

I am a very proud and fortunate mother.