Allison Diehl writes about her mom, Jody Diehl:
I honestly can not remember the last time that my mother took a moment to relax. She works full time as a second grade teacher at Arbury Hills School in Mokena, Illinois. She is a full time mother to three lovely children; if I do say so myself. Somehow my mother does it all. My mom deserves a break from her normal routine to relax and enjoy life just a little bit more. The last couple of years have been hard on our family, but mostly on her. In April of 2009 my dad suffered a heard attack. He survived, and now leads a much healthier life, but my mom was so stressed out about it. She tried not to show how it affected her, but we could tell. I do not believe that she has felt the same since that incident. Now she is always stressed out about something new in her life. It definitely does not help that now so many people in her job filed, and in her school district, are being let go.
My mom tries not to let it get to her though. She has been teaching in Mokena for twenty-two years now. She loves her job more than anyone I know. Every night when she returns home from work she has a new story to tell us about her students. Never have I heard her say a single negative work about any of them though. I am sure that is not an easy thing to do. If a person heard her talking about her students the way that we hear about them, that person would think the students where her children too.
About five years ago, my mother’s school secretary called our home in the morning. When I told my mom who was on the phone she looked confused as to why she would be calling. Shortly after she got off the phone I could hear her crying. When she came out of her room she told us that one of her students had died. A little boy, whom she absolutely adored, had been suffocated by one of the seats in his family’s conversion van. He had loved the White Sox baseball team. That following year everyone was invited to remember him at a White Sox fundraiser for the family. At one point my mom looked up and on the board it said “Mrs. Diehl we love you!” It amazes me that she had such a strong influence on everyone through hard times that they would do something so special for her. That makes me really grateful that I have someone so special for my mom. She is always doing everything she can to keep us kids happy. Hillary is the oldest at 17, then it’s me, Allison, I am 16 years old. Last is Wyatt, at 6.
She has done an outstanding job in raising us. She taught us everything we know. I can not put words how thankful I am that God gave me with this woman for a mother. All of us kids get mostly A’s in school, which in my opinion, is an amazing feat. I can not imagine how hard my mom has worked to help us with all of our work just so we can succeed. It truly is her doing that we are successful in school and in our community. Honestly, I feel like a very lucky girl to be able to say that I have an amazing relationship with my mother. I know she loves me not only because she tells me at least ten times a day, but also because of the way she treats me as a person. Even though I am her daughter, she does not give me any special treatment when something bad happens to me. She has taught me to learn from my mistakes, and if something does not go my way, then get up and try it again. She is not a perfect person and I know that, although it is hard for me to really believe. In my eyes she is nothing short of perfection. She works everyday so we can have a great life. I remember that everyday when I feel tired, or like I can not finish something. To me she is superwoman and I love her so much.
We can all tell that my mom does not approve of the way she has changed over the years. We always tell her that she is beautiful, but she needs to see for herself that it is true. Every Mother’s Day my dad and all of us kids try to buy something special for my mom. Every year my mom asks how much we spent, and even though I tell her a much lower number than is actually true, she always says that it is too much. No scented candle, bracelet or body lotion really says how much she really means to me thought. I do not think that anything truly could. My mother is deserving of anything she wants, and although I will still buy those things for her just for fun, I will never truly be able to express to her what an influence she is to everyone. If only she could take a break from all of us to have a relaxing day to herself.
