Tribute to My Mother

Today my Mom turns 55 years old. 55 years is a long time. My Mom isn't old. In fact 55 is the new 40. :)

 In all seriousness, I wanted to take some time to write a tribute to my mother, Ruth Ann Brewer. As many of you know, my mom was blessed with six boys, no girls. We were a lot for my Mom to handle. I am not sure how she would get through each day with us boys, well, being boys. It's quite a miracle to be more exact. I am not sure how she did a lot of things. My Mom made sure that we had a good hearty meal every night. Family dinner was important to her. She rarely made something we didn't like. She took great pride in having a delicious meal ready for my tired, worn out dad (he is amazing too, but he doesn't get a blog post till Father's Day).

I've heard that angels walk the earth. I believe that statement to be true. I was raised by one.

I was raised by a mother who had endless amounts of patience. It's impossible to keep six boys quiet, so she would play with us, and read to us and lived the old adage "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em." We in turn would clean for her and sew with her (good times) and plant her flowers for her. We would also ruin all of those flowers by playing basketball in the front driveway. :)

I was raised by a mother who stood by my dad through thick and thin. Not many marriages have that type of strength now days. They honored each other, and I have no memory of them fighting or quarreling in front of us. I think the love they showed to each other made us boys feel secure in our home.

I was raised by a mother who maintained a spirit of love in our home (though at times we would fight her to the death). My Mom would always prevail. If it wasn't a song my Mom would sing after each quarrel, she was calming telling us to get along, or we would have to wash dishes. :)

I was raised by a mother who introduced me to music. I believe that love of music is what led me to my wife Maura. We now like to make beautiful music together, thanks to the influence of my mother. My Mom loves to sing, and knows more songs than what's in the music dictionary.

I was raised by a mother who carried no pride of her own, but held and holds a great deal of pride for her six boys (now men). These boys all received eagle scouts, all served two-year missions for the LDS church, 5 are now married with nearly 14 grandchildren between them and many more are on the way.

I was raised by a mother who is more like Jesus than anyone I have ever known. She exemplifies the spirit of love, humility, meekness and kindness. She doesn't seek after worldly gain. We grew up under poor worldly circumstances, but I think we were the most spiritually rich people in town, thanks to my righteous mother.

I was raised by a mother, and I am all the better for it.

Happy Birthday, Mom. We hope you have many more to come.

Love,

Benjamin