Mama

So I said I would write a sappy blog about my mom in the last post.....so here it is. Consider yourself warned of any potentially "cute" content.

Well I guess a lil story about my mom will be a good place to start. She was born in Ohio in 1953, the 4th child of David and Pat Osterle, but her older brother died as a child leaving her as the 3rd in the line of 10 Osterle children. She soon moved the Bonita, California where she remained until moving out on her own. While I won't go into details cause we all have too many of those, suffice it to say she became the leader of the household at a very young age and immediately took over the care of the home. She was pretty much the head honcho from a very early point in her life. When she was 19 her father died from a heart attack, making the care of the family that much more important and urgent. While I know very little about these events, even my dad never met My grandpa "Tim", just the mere mention of them to me has helped me to see what kind of person my mother is. She has been a servant from a very early age. Her experience in helping her parents raise a family while she was still a child has left an indelible mark as the virtue she leads her present family with, and that is selflessness. I have never wanted in my family. I mean I could complain about how my family cant afford to buy all of us kids cars, or I could be bummed out about not having all the game systems that other people have, but in terms of human NEEDS, I never wanted for those, and I was completely and utterly filled to bursting by the love my mom shared for all of us kids. And even though people say "there are always favorites in families" I can honestly say my Mom never had one. She was kicked down, trampled on, laughed at, verbally abused by us her own children, and she never even batted an eye. She went on loving us non-stop. I still go home and say things that appall her.....even though she laughs sometimes, and she still can admonish me and love me all at the same time.
She has suffered so much and yet her first and last focus is her family. But all of this stems from a greater love, and that is her love of God. None of her love and perseverance could be possible without the grace of God in her life. And it is this trait that she strives to pass on before any other, to love as He loved. One could choose to measure her success based on how well her children carry out what she taught them, but I would say it is better to just see how they act to everyone else and you will see 1/11th of the love of this woman. Her 11 children, while not all practice her religion, and not all are as nearly as good as she is at sticking to it's principles (me!), all have love which they have been smothered with since birth, and they give that readily to others. So time is winding down, I wanted to get this posted before Mother's Day is officially over, and I guess all that remains to be said is how much your love has meant to me Mom. I know you dont read this, but I will send the link to you cause I'm saying things I'm not sure I could tell you face to face. I would ask forgiveness for all the times that I offended you, made inappropriate jokes at the dinner table, even called you names, but I know as soon as I say that, they are gone. I have been lonely and hurt sometimes at college and you have always answered the phone, ready with a listening ear and a loving word of comfort. Please always know that I do love you and always have, and I pray that God grant you peace and many years more of your loving service to him, filled with the reward of His love through your family and me, your son.
Take care Mom,
-Joseph