Nothing like a Mother's Love

I had an interesting experience today. I was eating at the Valley View Room (UVU's upscale cafeteria) and sat across from a family. There were four girls, a little boy and their mother. She was a single mom (she had a pamphlet for financial aid for single mom's) and was sharing food with all her kids. They couldn't afford cookies (they were asking why they couldn't have cookies and their mom simply said "because it is too much money and I don't know if I could buy enough for all of you"). The UVU student council walked around with fortune cookies and came by the table to give this struggling family a giant handful of them! I had gotten one earlier and knew exactly what each of them said. They were all the same. This is where the children's mom worked what I call "mommy's magic." Each child happily opened their cookie and then squealed in delight to find a paper with words in there. They each took turns asking their mom what it said. She started with her oldest and said "You pigtails make you look beautiful." Her oldest smiled big as her mom looked shocked and said "Whoa how did they know that!?" She continued give similar comments to her children about their beauty and how much they are loved each having three fortune cookies read to them, each squealing with delight (including her little boy).  She then told each of her children that it was time to go because she had to drop them off at the UVU Wee Care Center so she could go to class.

It made me think about their situation. The whole time her kids were noisy or asking questions that would make anyone feel uncomfortable to answer, she would answer calmly. She expressed her love to her kids despite her hardship. She did not look tired and even looked hopefully when she mentioned class. This woman knows what trials are and knows how to deal with them. She faces challenges everyday and still was calm and collect. She loved her children and you could tell that is all that mattered to her...that her children were happy. I see that kind of thing everyday but for some reason I had to share this wonderful experience. It made my challenges look a little more manageable!