My mother has always characterized herself in the same manner I heard her father refer to himself: "Jack of all trades, master of none."
My mother is a wonderful cook, but you'll not find her food in any restaurants.
She is a great seamstress - making most of my & my sister's childhood clothes; even making formal gowns for dances and weddings, though you won't see any of her articles in trendy boutiques.
Mom is great with tools - always fixing the little mechanical issues. On the day of her retirement party, I heard talk of her skills. A co-worker was telling Mom she'd changed a battery in a piece of machinery. The boss replied "Oh, I knew it had been changed, but it takes a screwdriver to fix it, and I knew Gladys hadn't been here, so I couldn't figure out who'd done that." Even with talk like that, you won't find her name in the yellow pages.
My mom was a great nurse. In fact her physician and dear friend, Dr. Fred Cycholl, told me on more than on occasion "your mother should have become an RN or the hospital should change its stupid policies, because she's the best ER nurse this county has ever seen". Yet to this day, my mother has never gone beyond LPN in Nursing.
These are but a few of the examples to support her theory "Jack of all trades".
However, I strongly disagree with her opinion. I believe my mother is a master of many things.
She has been a wonderful employee and co-worker: always working her hardest and giving it her all - even when she was usually the lowest paid.
She should be hired as a financial consultant to balance the federal budget. It was amazing how she balanced our measly budget, yet our needs were always met.
She has been an amazing friend to all she known - quietly finding little ways to show her love and appreciation.
She's an excellent sister - one with siblings calling her the "rock" and "strong one" of the family.
She was a wonderful daughter to both of her parents - loving, obeying and caring for them to the end of their earthly lives.
She has always been a wonderful wife to my father. She took her vows, such as "in sickness, poverty, good times & bad" very seriously because of her strong love for him.
She has been an awesome mom from day one! Even though she never planned to have children, my sister and I can attest to her being the Best Mom in the world! She has loved us so much that somewhere along the way, she became "Mom" and "Best Friend" all rolled into one.
She's an amazing witness for the Lord. Living her life out quietly for Him, yet never missing an opportunity to share Him with others when it presented itself.
Most of all, though, I think she is a Master of Humility. She even shows this in the way she describes herself as "master of none". It's not that she's belittling herself, she just doesn't have an inflated or prideful opinion of herself. She always puts God and others before herself - making sure His Will is done and that people's needs and desires are met before her own.
My mother truly is a Proverbs 31 woman: "Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her saying: Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all."
