Jules of the Nile

My Favorite Moms- Day 1

In honor of Mothers Day this Sunday, I am going to do a post-a-day on my favorite moms.

This is Jules. She is my moms younger sister. She and I have a lot of history together. If it were a real thing to have a second mom, she is mine. Growing up, she lived 2 hours and 15 minutes from our front door to hers. (She still does.)

Her life as a mom started out a little rough. She was married to a super fun guy and they had 2 little kids right off the bat. My dress was bright colors including pink and orange and matched the bridesmaids. The kids are less then 2 years apart in age (and about 5 years younger than me). Then the super fun guy and Jules divorced because, well super fun is great sometimes but not all the time.

A couple years later, after she switched "her plan" by building a kick A career in MK, she was introduced to husband #2. He is awesome, and super fun too, but more awesome than fun. Just what she needed. I remember the day they got married. In Grandma & Grandpa D's front room. It was just before Christmas and the tree already had presents under it. Grandpa married them and we all dressed like it was time for church.

Then they bought a cool house up on a remote hill with nothing around it. We got to walk through it when they were "thinking" about buying it. It has a great view from the wrap around deck that overlooks a big valley.

When I was 15 she had had 2 more kids and the littlest one was super creative and had an unbelievable imagination. He needed constant supervision so I went to live with them in the summer to "watch" him and make sure he didn't paint the carpet with fingernail polish again. I became an expert at making wands and memorized The Wizard of Oz. I also learned how to organize files and iron really well. It was a good summer and the first time I made any real money. She taught me how to run a house...which my mom taught me too, but at Jules' I was required to actually do it. I have to admit, I failed a lot. But she never acted upset, she just kept teaching me. I needed that.

I got an internship at The JSMB in college and needed a place to stay. Jules opened up her basement to me...studs and all. It was probably the cheapest rent I have ever paid. She and her awesome husband even came to visit me at college in Hawaii at a time when I really needed family around.

When I graduated from college and got my first job in the area, she let me stay with them until I found a place of my own. Then when my roommate turned out to be scary, she let me move back in.

Jules is the kind of person who brings the fun to any occasion. She has "tough love" (her words) for people when they need it. I like that about her. I tend to be a bit to open mouthed about things for my moms taste, but Jules taught me it was ok when done with love and concern for the other person. I guess she understood where I was coming from in the areas no one else did.

While I was living with her, they broke ground around the mountain from her house for a temple. They built a park across the street from her, and lots of people decided it would be a nice place to live. Her remote little hill became surrounded by homes. A few years later, I stayed with her on the night before my wedding so I could get married in that temple that I watched be built from her back deck.

I like mushrooms because she forced me to eat them one day. Turns out they are delicious.

Jules has been to every major event in my life, and my siblings lives. She works in the booth at The Fair with us. She drives where ever we are to make sure she is at the important stuff. I can't think of life without her in it. I love her very much and love that she helped shape me into the person I am today. She has had lots to deal with in her life. She isn't the healthiest person I know, but she doesn't complain about it, she finds a way to live with it. "Find a way, Make a way" is one of her favorite quotes.

I am grateful for Jules. Her family feels like an extension of my own. Her daughter has never had a sister other than me. Going to her house feels just as much like home as my moms. She is wonderful and full of excitement for life. She is a force to be reckoned with when it comes to business. And she is Grandma Julie to my kids. This summer her 5th grand baby will be born. I see in her a lot of the same qualities I see in my mom. The same qualities I am trying to instill in my life. It's wonderful having not one, but two great examples of a great mom to look to as I grow into that role. I still feel like I have so much to learn, but I have her to thank for helping me apply what I know.