Mother of the Year

As many of you know, my mother, Connie Turley, was chosen as Arizona's 2009 Mother of the Year by the Arizona American Mothers Association. She is the perfect choice. I wanted to share some of the feelings I have about my mother.

I have always tried to emulate my mother. Her opinion has always been the one that trumped all others. As a child growing up with eight siblings, she was sure to make me feel that I was unique and important. This was especially difficult because, being a twin, I was one of a pair. As a teenager I learned that if I trusted those with more experience than myself, I would rarely be lead astray. Now that I am an adult, she is always telling me to trust myself and I will be great because I am great.

There are many things that make a hero: sound judgment to decide what is important, dedication to others before self, and courage to do what is right even when it is hard. If there is one person I know that embodies all these qualities, it is my mother, Connie Turley.
The aphorism “mother knows best” truly applies to my mother. I cannot count the number of times I decided to follow her advice and was better for it. I learned to trust her judgment on little things as well as the important ones. Now that I am grown, I understand how wise she is. When I come to a difficult decision in life, I often find myself thinking back on the things my mother taught me and make decisions based on what mother would do. I feel that if I always keep her in mind, I will not be led astray.
I have seen my mother give so much of herself to make sure family, friends, and even strangers were well taken care of. I will never forget how hard it was for her to sacrifice her time, money, and even the chance to spend her days with her youngest children so that she could return to school and support her family. She studied for more than 8 years, competing with students half her age, all the time wishing she could be at home with her babies instead. When she did graduate and became a music teacher, she fought through budget cuts and dying arts programs to restructure the music curriculum, much of the time after hours and on her own dime. Even now she is helping provide worthwhile activities for the youth in her area or organizing musicals so the new kid in her theater class can gain some self worth or making dinner to take over to another mother in need. It is always about others.
My mother has been through some very difficult times in her life and she has always come through with undeniable strength and faith. She has known the strain of a financial hardship; the distress of raising a large family, sometimes on her own; the pain of a loved one living with a life altering illness; and even the agony of the death of a child. Through it all I have never seen her falter in her faith or her integrity. I remember her relating the Bible story of Job and how he never turned his heart from the truth, even to ease his pain or pacify his friends. Even as Job was, so is she.
My mother is the greatest kind of hero. She is a true example of all a woman and mother should be and I am proud to call her “mother”.