* Melanie’s mom, Susan, will receive a freshly made sampler box filled with delicious Better Made products
ROCHESTER HILLS, MI – Melanie Martin of Rochester Hills submitted the winning entry in Better Made Snack Foods’ 2021 Mother of the Year contest. Her entry was touching and painted a true picture of her loving mom, Susan. For submitting the winning entry, Susan, will receive a freshly made sampler box filled with delicious Better Made Snack foods. Here is her submission:
Parenting is already a tough job, and they say it takes two, but my mom did it solo. She was our protector, motivator, nurse, teacher, and confidant. Mom did it all. There are so many memories of her “showing up” for us that it’s hard to choose just one. As an adult, I now understand how difficult that must have been for her to have so many responsibilities and three children to raise. She worked long shifts as a waitress trying to make ends meet to support us. We didn’t have much but we had each other and a lot of love.
As a youngster, I remember being in high school and wanting a class ring. I can remember showing the brochure to my mom with excitement. I also remember watching her gaze fall as she softly said, “we’ll see”. Later I realized that she likely couldn’t afford the ring and didn’t know how to tell me that. I left the brochure on the kitchen table for weeks praying and hoping the class ring fairy would visit my house but she never did.
Several months after I brought the brochure home, I realized I likely wasn’t going to get the ring. It was unfair for me to ask for such a frivolous item when sometimes coming up with our rent was a huge feat for Mom. She worked so hard and did her best to give us everything but I was starting to come to terms with the fact that she couldn’t give me this. I was disappointed but understanding.
In the spring of my junior year, Mom told me we had an appointment somewhere in town. She was very vague about the details and I figured this was some sort of surprise. So, I went along with it. I was slightly confused when she pulled into the local jeweler’s parking lot. I looked at her with confusion on my face. She smiled with the biggest grin. “Well, let’s go get you that class ring”, she said. My eyes welled up with tears of joy. Apparently, she had been saving for months to get me this ring.
Most adults I know couldn’t tell you where their high school ring is but I still wear mine. I wear it because it is a symbol of my mother’s love. When I look at it, I think about the struggle and hardships she had to overcome so that we could live a better life. I think about the extra shifts she had to pick up in order to pay for that ring and how a mother’s love can make dreams come true. My mother is an incredibly loving and strong woman. She is the light in our lives and the reason I want to nominate her for Mother of the Year.
“This is a great example of how caring some moms really are and to what lengths they will go to make a young girl’s dreams come true,” says Cathy Gusmano, CEO of Better Made Snack Foods. “Melanie’s story is very touching and demonstrates a strong, loving bond between mother and daughter.”
