I am thrilled that Marty is here today! 
She is one of the warmest, kindest, most encouraging bloggers in the blogosphere. She is the mother of 3, stepmother of 2, grandmother of 12, and great-grandmother of 1. She lives in Surprise, Arizona and she blogs at A Stroll Thru Life, where she takes “thrift to chic one project at a time.”
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I've learned that being a mom is a lifetime occupation. Every day is filled with trial and error and on the job training. Your role changes everyday and the blessings are unbelievable when you first start the journey.
1. When my children were growing up the most important thing I learned was to be a listener. One on one time to hear their joys, their cares and their hopes.
2. To be an encourager. (If that's a word) Help them to reach for the stars and become the best they can be.
3. You are not always your child’s best friend. Having clear rules and guidelines of acceptable behavior gives them security and shows how much you love them. I've also learned to apologize when I'm wrong.
4. I've learned that at any given minute you might be a referee, a nurse or rolling on the floor in laughter.
5. I've learned that you Pray and Believe your hardest when a child or grandchild is in a wreck and in a coma, or breaks both legs skiing, or even has a fever.
6. I've learned how important it is to accept of their choices in life. Their careers and their mates are their choices and need to be embraced whole-heartedly.
I think the hardest thing to learn is to let go. You are still mom, just in a different role. Now you watch them go through the trials and joys of life from a distance. You still share these times with them, and you get the calls for advice, but the choices are theirs and sometimes you see them make the same mistakes you did. Just like when they were children, you help pick them up, dust them off and encourage them to try again.
Being a grandmother is a different role again, learning to honor your children’s rules and guidelines for their own children. Sometimes you're asked for advice and sometimes you have to be still and be quiet. They have to go through the same trial and error you did in raising them. Being involved in your grandchildren's lives and activities gives both your children and your grandchildren a support group that is invaluable, plus the blessings of knowing them and watching them grow into adults are too many to count.
Being a great-grandmother just starts the process all over again. You see your children learning to let go and become a grandparent too.
The memories are all so sweet. One on one play dates.
Watching them dunk each other in the pool.
The graduations.
The weddings.
The weddings.
And trying to get a family picture.
I think what I've learned the most is you don't have to be a super mom, you just have to be there through all the stages of their lives with love, caring and support no matter what life throws at them. I've also learned they forgive you for all your mistakes, because they know you really care.
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