A Salute To Moms From Around The World

Duramed FUTURES Tour members wanted to share some special moments with their moms and to send the following messages for Mother’s Day. To all moms around the world, Happy Mother’s Day!

There are many reasons I think my mom is the greatest mom in the whole world. It would take me days to write all the things I am grateful for, so I have decided to narrow it down to a Top-10 List of the things I love most about my mom.
10) Clean sheets on my bed and my favorite dinner on the stove when I get home after weeks on the road.
9) Belting out the song "It's Raining Men" on our road trips.
8) Having her as my caddie (which pretty much means she cleans my clubs and claps loudly when I hit a good shot) for afternoon practice rounds at my home course, Laurel Oak Country Club.
7) Calling multiple times a day just to say, "I love you!"
6) Afternoon shopping on rainy days, just the two of us.
5) Getting our caffeine fixes at Starbucks -- Carmel Frap, no whip!
4) Friday nights in bed, eating popcorn and watching "Forensic Files" on TV.
3) Going to church together on Sunday morning.
2) Hugs that cure bad days!
And lastly...
1) Having a mom that is my mentor, my hero, and my best friend!
Happy Mother's Day Momma! I love you!

-Lindsey Bergeon of Sarasota, Fla.

There isn’t a particular time that I can remember as “my favorite,” but I have to say that my last trip back home to Malaysia in 2007 was very special. I was only home for 2½ weeks, but I was able to spend a lot of time with Mom, playing golf, shopping, running errands together, eating -- yes, we loved to eat! This may seem very normal, but everything changes when you realize that your mom is battling cancer. I really admired her strength and her spirit, and perhaps her stubbornness at times for not wanting to slow down.

Mom passed away later that June and I always think of her, especially when now when I’m on the road on my own. Only now have I realized how she had taught me at a young age, the skills I would now need for my career. For example, instead of flying, we would drive four to five hours away from home in our old Toyota Corona for a golf tournament. I would learn how to maneuver around potholes, overtake big timber trucks on a single winding road, drive on gravel or muddy roads, and change a flat tire. Essentially, she was training me to be an independent road warrior, which I have now become for the last five years on the Duramed FUTURES Tour.

At times, moms are taken for granted, but I hope people will learn to love them, as moms are so very precious.

-Cindy Lee-Pridgen of Sabah, Malaysia

Here is what comes to mind when I think about special moments with my mom, Bonnie Ford, at home in Indiana:

Cool, summer evenings on the boat with my mom ...docked in the middle of the lake with a bottle of wine, a deck of cards and good music playing. This is truly my "happy time" that I go to in my mind whenever I'm on the road and feeling homesick.

-Danah Ford of Indianapolis

My most cherished moment with my mom was, and still is, when she prays for me before every golf tournament. Ever since I was 3 years old, she would come to my bedside, hold my hand and pray with me every night. Even now, my parents pray for me. Unfortunately, they are not able to come to many of my tournaments, but wherever I am, whatever time it is, I know she will pick up and pray for me.

My mother is beautiful inside and out.  There's nothing more special than a mother-daughter bond. Thank you Mom, for always showing that you love me through your actions and words. Thank you for being so patient and kind, so loving and generous, so faithful and loyal, and for just being YOU! I'll make you proud ... just be patient. God has a plan for our family. Thank you for all that you do.  I love you mommy ... from the bottom of my heart!

-Susan Choi of Natick, Mass.

Our mother’s give us life.  They give us hope, support and unconditional love.  As kids, we are not always loving and supportive back. In fact, we have the ability to cause our mothers much grief. 

When I was 29 years old, I was in that spot of causing my mom a lot of pain.  I was making bad decisions and did not like to be told I was anything but right.  My mom and I had far from an ideal relationship. Then, while playing on the [Duramed] FUTURES Tour in Decatur, Ill., the tournament staff met me on the third hole. They told me my father was desperately trying to reach me.  I rushed off the course to learn that my mother had suffered a brain aneurism. 

I found myself facing the fact that I may live the rest of my live without my mom. Fellow player Nicole Jeray helped me drive home to Ithaca, N.Y.  By the time I got there, Mom had just gotten out of her second brain surgery.  Through my tears, I realized at that moment, I was given a second chance to make things right with my mom. Her life was spared and now I had to forgive her and myself for years of hurt, resentment and shame. 

Now, my mom is healthy with few long-term effects from that horrible illness.  Not a day goes by that I don’t think about how lucky I am to have her in my life.  I appreciate her, her wisdom and her love more than I thought I ever could.

I love you Mom!  Thank you for always believing in me and loving me, especially during those times when I was not very lovable.  Happy Mother’s Day!

-Lori Atsedes of Ithaca, N.Y.

Picking only one single great moment spent with my mum may be the hardest thing to do. She has always been there for me, supporting me through the rough times, listening to me cry over the phone after a bad round and consoling me from 5,000 miles away.

Last season, my mum decided to come and watch a couple of my tournaments on the Duramed FUTURES Tour and to experience what it was like to be on Tour and what living out of your car meant! We may have changed hotels seven times during a two-week period -- we don’t trust those hotel pictures anymore! It was so comforting to see a familiar face walking around the golf course with me, pumping me up after a bad shot and clapping nervously after a birdie. For those two weeks, I didn’t have to iron once and she was always worrying if I had put on enough sunscreen, or had enough to eat. It’s just those little things that mums do that mean the world to me.

But I will pick one moment that reminds me how mums will do anything to see us happy. On a week off, we went to New York City and of course “we” wanted to experience the whole tourist package. Not knowing what she was getting into, my mum agreed to ride the subway on the hottest day of the summer. Putting a nice smile on her face, we went deeper into the center of the earth! It was when we finally got to the last platform that I see my mum wheezing and about to faint – from claustrophobia! That is how awesome my mum is!

So Mum, thanks for all those great moments we spent together and for all those that are to come. Te quiero mucho mamita!

-Alejandra Shaw of Vina Del Mar, Chile

It is very hard to pick just one cherished moment with my mom, as every moment I spend with her is priceless. But I would have to say that the connection I feel with my mom when she is my caddie is one of the closest to my heart.

When I first started playing golf at the age of 10, it was so I could get her to spend one-on-one time with me. Having four children, most of my mother’s time is spent working to support the family and keeping our family close. So when I was 10 and my little sister was born, I was not able to spend a lot of time with her. Then one day, we went out on the course so I could show her what I had learned in the junior golf camp the past week. Golf was something I could share with her and a hobby that could take her away from her stressful working life and let her be with me. While it may have been a selfish emotion, I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.

We kept learning the game of golf and grew closer together the more we went out on the course. To this day, golf is a sport that allows my mother and I to have a special bond that no other family members share with her. When she is my caddie, I am proud to have the most supporting and loving person in my life beside me.

Knowing that whatever I do she will still love me for who I am is the most uplifting feeling to have out on the course. My mom is my everything: my parent, my coach, my caddie, my No. 1 fan, and most importantly, my best friend. Win or lose, my mother will be right beside me the whole way supporting, guiding and cheering me on. I cannot wait to share the best years of my life with her. I love you mommy!

- Amelia Lewis of Jacksonville, Fla.

(From the daughter of Duramed FUTURES Tour member Dana Bates of Thousand Palms, Calif.)

I love my mom so much. I can't start with anything but that. When I take a deep breath and quickly flash over the last 20 years of my life, I'm so overwhelmed by how much we have been through together. She made growing up something I wanted to do, and learning from her while I was young was so inspiring. People listen to my mom because she is a force to be reckoned with!

When I was in the fifth grade, I was so awkward. I was six inches taller than the second tallest kid, and clumsier than a fish out of water. There was this girl in my class, with her two best friends (that were her little "henchmen"), and they were always up to no good. They were in the principal's office for all sorts of stuff. I'll admit these girls were quite clever, as they always had a new way to off-handedly torture me. I remember one week's theme was to make fun of everything I said, so I resolved to be mute. This got the attention of my mom. After she figured out what was going on, she scheduled a parent-teacher conference with my teacher, the girl's mom and me.

When we were in the meeting, my mom sat quietly while my teacher and the girl's mom talked about the bullying problems. After back and forth between the two of them and the bully's mom trying to smooth it over, my mom had had enough. She stood up, looked down at her and said, “Whatever it takes, if your daughter ever bothers my daughter again, I won't be calling [the teacher] -- I'll be calling the police. It'll be for a citizen's arrest and a petition to remove your child from the school district. Come on, Katelynn. We're going home.”

I had chills. That girl never bothered me again. The problem had been solved so effortlessly, and she continued to fix things throughout the years, in the same fashion.

My mom is my hero, and it's good to know that she'll embrace her "inner gangster" for me. That's what families do. Love you Mom!

-Kate Heffernan of California