Happy Birthday Mom - February 28

Authors: Brooks Anthony and Addie Hillman

It has been so comforting reading these stories over the past month about Mom that convey our every emotion, so much so that we have struggled to write down our own feelings ourselves. We wanted to take the opportunity, on Mom's heavenly birthday, to write our passage about her impactful presence.

Mom was never not there. Not in the helicopter-parent sense, that wasn't her M.O. She was always there when you needed, when you called, like Bill Withers. Our earliest memories include walking to Trailwood through the cut-through, Milburn Big Boppers, and of course Dragon Fest. Corinth's annual year end (?) carnival style event for the students, that necessitated volunteer hours from the parents. Now we were too young to know the thought process, but we can reverse-extrapolate that Mom heard that volunteers were needed and was the first to the clipboard with pen in hand, signing up for whatever needed to be done for us to have a good time. That was her character, others first. But not only that, she would enjoy herself while giving back to others. It wasn't a chore, it was a privilege.

Mom's passion for involvement didn't stop at school events either. She was a dedicated team mom for Addie's soccer games, providing orange slices and Capri-Suns at halftime, as well as transporting the team in her white suburban. She planned and hosted "5th Quarter" parties after football games when Brooks played, was swim chair on multiple occasions (at multiple clubs), and even watched Addie run in cross-country meets, however one does that!

It didn't stop their either. She used her fashion merchandising major from Mizzou to craft some of the most creative costumes that we have even seen for Halloween. Whether we were a baby shark and junior shark, or a butterfly and a dinosaur, she put the love and passion she had for us into our costumes. Candidly, I think she wanted us to be the best dressed kids because her and Dad would always kill their costumes, but that is a discussion for another post. She and Addie donned their poodle-skirts one year while Brooks wanted to be a Pokemon trainer, all made from scratch. One of Brooks' fondest Halloween memories was wanting to be a NASCAR driver. It would have been easy to buy a jumpsuit and helmet, but Melissa went the extra mile and a half to make a car out of cardboard for Brooks to wear that night, and be the envy of all of his friends.

Then there were the gifts. The little nothings to some, but things that mean the world to us. From the 'Fart Blaster' from Despicable Me just because to the Hallmark stuffed animals on Easter and Valentines day, each gift was given with love. We received countless care packages at school and even into the working world, filled with candy, trinkets, and cards expressing Mom and Dad's love. Brooks still has all of the little toys and knickknacks in his house and on his desk at work, serving as daily reminders of that love.

But all this was dwarfed by the kindness and care she showed for the little things. Days when we would leave work stressed (more common than not) we would be able to decompress with a phone call to her. Whether it be discussing the day, the weekend ahead, or what to wear for that important event, Mom always knew the right words to say. She was our compass, ever vigilantly pointed to where we needed to go - more of a Pirates of the Caribbean compass than a real one, but you get the point.

It is hard to write down all of our memories with Mom, but we would be remiss not to mention all that come to mind in writing this. We were so lucky to travel as much as we did when we were young; Hotel Del, Vail, Hawaii, Turks, and even Disney just to name a few. Each carried there own special significance for us, from getting so sunburned snorkeling the first day in Turks that Mom made us wear "sunshirts" for the rest of the trip or the Hawaii 5-0 shirts Mom created for Nonnie and Grandfather's 50th anniversary. As you can gather from the pictures, we always had the time of our lives on these trips, courtesy of Mom and Dad.

While these trips were amazing, there is one that stands out above the rest as the perfect encapsulation of Melissa. International Stay-cation 2015. We both came home for spring break, Brooks during his Master's year and Addie her sophomore year. Mom decided that just because we were in Kansas didn't mean that we couldn't 'travel' the world. Each day she decorated the house and planned our day as if we were in another country. We woke up in Paris to croissants and the house adorned in rooster themed decor, with pictures of the Eiffel Tower lurking around every corner. The next day was off to Italy with a spread of olive oils and pizza for dinner. She turned our real garden into a beer garden and we had our own Oktoberfest in Germany, followed by car shopping on the autobahn! We had a fiesta for our trip to Mexico, complete with sombreros, tacos, and a pinata! We visited Arendelle for a Frozen day with Elsa and Anna decorations all around before the hockey game we attended. We even made a trip to the beach one day with fruity drinks in tiki mugs with umbrellas to boot! On the final day everything was plaid because she was "sad in plaid" that we had to leave. We were again the envy of all of our friends when we returned to school. That 'trip' was everything that Mom was; imaginative, fun-loving, and most importantly compassionate.

Her care for others over herself was never more evident than when her dad, our Grandfather, was sick. She, back in her second diagnosis and treatment regimen for breast cancer, would take care him appointments and therapy. Smile on her face and a Freddie's burger or Starbucks treat in his hand. She had her own ailments and pains, but put his needs over hers, to make his life better. And we know this because we would be on the phone with her nearly every day, down in Texas, hearing about her and Grandfather's fights with cancer up in Kansas.

Now with Addie expecting a little girl of her own, she has the perfect road map to success. She hopes and prays to be like Mom, knowing that although those shoes are hard to fill, they have left perfect impressions in the path for us to follow.

Love you more.