Photo Story Friday: A Post About My Mum.

Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek

If I were a writer I would call my current problem writers block, but since I am a would be, wanna be writer I can only claim a huge brain fart...I have started to write a post oh, 6 times. They all end up being deleted and forgotten. The words I want to put here don't seem to want to find me, and are pretty good at avoiding my searching mind. I want to talk about my Mum and how much I admire her, faults and foibles and all. However every time I start this post…brain fart!
The idea is to finish this before the world ends, so maybe I will just write and maybe not aim for perfection and all that. My Mum, Myrna M. Booher Flynn, is the fourth of four children and the only girl. The daughter of a logger/railroad man and a nurse. Being the only girl, I am telling you, she got away with quite a bit and was a bit, ok a lot bit spoiled. She spent the first few years of her life having to share a room with her parents, in a house without indoor bathroom facilities...something I am sure we all take for granted.

When she was a young girl the older girls used to invite her over for sleep overs because they thought her brother Jim or was it Duane was super cute, and wanted to get closer to him through her. From Mum's stories and what I have heard, my Mum was a pretty popular girl. She ran with a pretty big crowd and always seemed to have a boyfriend. Of course they did some crazy and stupid things, but hey, isn't that what the teenage years are for? She always told me she wanted her daughters to be better than she was, and make better choices. She raised us with a different value set then her parents had. Again I go back to the spoiled aspect, you see my grandparents kind of let her get away with nearly everything. One of the things Mum used to say to me when I was a teenager was, "You know you can always come to us with any problem, it is better for you to tell us then us to find out another way." I admit, I wasn't the best teenager. No, I didn't party or smoke or do drugs, but I had, well let's just call it an attitude problem, until I was about 17 or so. One thing for sure, after my sister married and moved away, my Mum became one of my best friends, and I ended up forging a lasting relationship with her. I don't fear telling her my problems. Sometimes she isn't the most sympathetic person, you know when you are feeling sorry for your self, she doesn't want to listen and nod, she wants to fix what ever the problem is.
Ok, so once last year while my parents were visiting, I fell down the stairs. From the top all the way to the bottom. You see, I was carrying something large, and couldn't see the next step and slipped and went fumble bumbling down. As soon as I hit the last step Mum and Aaron were there to help. Aaron helped me to my feet and was checking to make sure nothing was broken, while Mum on the other hand, was giving out advice for not falling down the stairs again. "You should have let go of what you were carrying. I think you really should always hold onto the rail, that is why it's there", and "maybe you should wear shoes, so your feet don't slip in the stairs." My Mum is a fixer. Don't tell her something if you just want some one to hear your woes, cause she wants, and maybe needs to fix things.
I suppose it comes from raising eight children, and the last four mostly by herself while we were younger (my Da was a long haul truck driver for all of my early years and I am number six). I think to raise that many children you have to be a problem solver. I admire her devotion to her family. She was always willing to make sure we had what we needed before ever thinking of herself. Heck, now that all the kids are grown and gone she thinks of my Da's needs before her own.

I have grown up knowing that is it good to speak my mind, to never be afraid to stand up for what I believe. I credit both of my parents for this quality, but a good portion of it goes to my Mum. I can't remember a time when she let any one walk over her. She is small of stature...5'2" but not small of character! When my brother Clancy was playing on the River Dogs baseball team, one of the coaches attacked Clancy and put him in a head lock. He was a big man, but that didn't stop my Mum from getting right up in his face and letting him know who the real boss was. He came close to hitting her, and all she said was, "Go ahead and do it, then I will own your car dealership and everything else you have. She is a bit on the fearless side when it comes to defending her children.
My Mum is also a bit on the silly side. I suppose she has a right, having a bunch of kids can do that to a person. She has vowed to never grow up, and for the most part she is keeping her word. Now that she is "a little gray haired old lady" she thinks she can get away with anything, 'cause "people will say, it's Ok, she's just a crazy old lady!" When we went on a vacation with my parents, what nearly 7 years ago she put that one to the test. We were in the Spokane International Airport, when she spotted this giant of a man wearing a Montana State Bobcats sweatshirt. Well, having lived in Missoula for years, we were naturally University of Montana Griz fans. There we were in the airport filled with travelers going here and there, and my Mum starts chanting, "Poor Bobcats, poor Bobcats." She did it over and over until the Goliath (I mean this guy was huge, he might have been the football team, for MSU) in front of us turned around with malice in his eyes. As soon as he saw that it was in fact, the little old lady saying it, he shrugged his shoulders and went about his business. Da, Aaron, and I were trying to melt into the floor from embarrassment, but she just giggled and went about life like that was a normal happening. I guess she proved that sometimes people do let the "little old ladies" get away with stuff.
All in all my Mum is a pretty cool cat...of course I might just think that because I am quite a bit like her! Sure she has her issues, and sometimes drives us a little crazy...but hey, that could be pay back...but she is my Mum and I love her dearly. She maybe be often misunderstood, but her actions always come form the heart. I am who I am because of her and my Da.