Archive for category: Memories

1. When I was a kid I would eat pretzels every day after school and pretend I was smoking. Or I would put a marshmallow on the end and pretend it was a lollipop.
2. I had a boy hair cut for the majority of my up-bringing and was mistaken as a boy several times.
3. I would throw tantrums when I was little because my socks wouldn’t stay up.
4. I made up dances all the time. If you’d like to see my dance for the 6th grade talent show, let me know.
5. When my family and I would leave for vacations, I’d say bye to all of my stuffed animals and dolls and tell them how sorry I was that I couldn’t take all of them with me. But I’d always take one beanie baby, my Monkey baby and my American Girl doll, Kirsten.
6. Before going to my first middle school dance, I “practiced” in the mirror for a while and made conversation with myself, pretending like I was talking to someone.
7. I made up my imaginary friend just so I could say I had an imaginary friend. Her name was Rainbow.
8. I loved monkeys and dolphins.
9. My first beanie baby was a whale. I got it on Christmas Eve. I tied a string around it and dragged it everywhere I went, like a dog.
10. I loved making tents and playing outside in the creeks.
11. I watched Arthur, Dragon Tales, and Zoom almost every day. (We didn’t have cable.)
12. I read all of the Boxcar Children books over and over again.
13. The first time my piano teacher told me I needed to keep practicing my assigned song for another week, I ran to the bathroom and cried.
14. When I was 12, I had to sing “We’ll Bring the World His Truth” with two boys during our primary presentation. I started crying during the song because it’s a touching song, and once again… I ran out of the chapel during the song.
15. I tried to take my cat on a walk once.
16. I loved doing crafts, including that tie dye wheel, painting stain glass, and colored sand stuff.
17. I called a kid “4 eyes” in second grade (I had a crush on him). He told on me, I got in trouble. The next year I had to get glasses.
18. In first grade, my teacher told me I didn’t know how to use scissors right. She gathered all the kids around me for a lesson on cutting properly. Humiliating.
19. I wore Adidas sambas and overalls.
20. I loved playing house, but I could never remember my name. It usually was Melanie, but my friends always had to remind me. Also, if a grownup walked in while we were playing house or barbies, I stopped playing and pretended to be doing something else because I was always embarrassed.

Tomorrow is my mom’s birthday. This is not the “official-happy birthday” post, but I just can’t wait any longer… I want to write a post just about my amazing mom.

First of all, let’s talk about her talent. My mom has a beautiful singing voice and is very musical. She teaches elementary school kids music and is a wonderful teacher. Her room is colorful, deccorated, and the kids always have a blast when they get to go to “Miss Swainhart’s” room.

Sometimes Mom learns new things that she wants to teach her kids, but she tests them out on us first. When I was in high school, I would always give her such a hard time and tell her how weird it was that we would sing rhymes and do these weird acting games, but it was always so funny. One time she told us to say, “Someone stole my chocolate bunny, and I don’t think it’s very funny.” You’re supposed to do it in different accents and drama styles. Let me tell you, my mom would put so much energy in that weirdo rhyme, it kind of haunts me. Oh, and one of her favorite acting games that she sometimes will want to play with you is “Mirror Me.” I’m sure you can figure out what you do in that game. Good think Blair was always around in high school, or else she wouldn’t have had anyone to cooperate with her.

My mom also loves to exercise. She is a kickboxer through and through. Don’t mess with the Nanster, she knows what she’s doing. She has the gloves and everything! I’d post a video of her doing a Billy Blanks dvd, but I don’t think she would really appreciate that. If we watch a movie at home, she turns on a kickboxing dvd on the computer and does it at the same time. When we stop at rest stops, she tries to speed walk a few miles, always seeking ways to get more steps in. She is an inspiration, along with my motivation because I know she will ask always ask me, “so what exercise did you do today?”

Next, my mother is so spiritual. I can’t tell you how many times I would accidentally walk in on her saying her prayers in the morning. And when I would try to come back in 5 minutes, I’d accidentally interrupt her again! She always reads her scriptures everyday, shares her insights with others, and is bold about what she believes. Mom would teach us the scriptures and the gospel through Family Home Evenings, reading the scriptures during breakfast where we would memorize different Psalms and Proverbs.

She was even my seminary teacher for a couple of years. It was hard sometimes, I must admit. Going to seminary (which is like a sunday-school class) everyday for four years at 6 a.m. was intense, but worth it. I remember the day I found out my mom was going to be the Seminary teacher. It was the day after Christmas and my Grandfather had died early that morning. And then our Bishop came over and asked my mom. Wow, that was an interesting day. But it all worked out and was truly a blessing to my life, along with my mom’s life. Slowly through the next years my classmates fell away, and all that was left was my mom and I. It was a struggle. We prayed so hard that they would come back to church and want to come to seminary, but usually it was just us. We’d still get up in the morning, sometimes my dad would join us. We’d hold seminary in the basement and start everyday off with a strong Spirit and peace in our home. It strengthened my relationship with my mom more than anything else in my life.

My mom is a hard worker. Peacemaker. Journal-writer. Parks & Rec-watcher. Pianist. Cook. Homemaker. Laugher. Grandmother. Positive-thinker. Cryer. Compassionate-healer. Shoulder to cry on. Provider. Best Friend.