We celebrate Mother's Day in recognition of mothers, maternal bonds and matriarchs of the family. In celebration, we talked to four special local mom and daughter duos. We wish all of the moms out there a beautiful Mother's Day!
TRICE WHITAKER & LEAH BAIN
What is the best advice your mom ever gave you?
Leah: Always have “garage sale money” hidden somewhere in my purse and money in a savings account. My mom has always loved estate sales, so she would stop and see what unexpected things she “couldn’t live without.” Her hidden money came in handy many times.
What is one thing you love most about your mom?
Leah: She’s always down for a good time! She will go anywhere and do (almost) anything I ask her to. She will throw on a hat, get in the car, and “be there in 5” as she says! She will also do anything for my son, Mason. She loves him as fiercely as she loves me.
Tell me something that you do that reminds you of your mom.
Leah: My laugh! I have always had a distinct laugh and people have said the same about my mom. When the two of us are in a room laughing together….LOOK OUT…or plug your ears!
Tell us about some things you enjoy doing together. We love to travel, shop, and attend all of the fantastic Celina events together.
What is your favorite memory together?
Leah: I took my mom to Key West for her Birthday a few years ago. We rented moped scooters to tour the island and had a fantastic time! On the first day, we picked up our mopeds and my mom needed a little “refresher course” on where the brakes were. She was doing great until we needed to turn at an intersection, she forgot to hit the brakes behind me, and screamed at me to GO…even though I couldn’t. She found the brake pretty quickly, and after we turned through the intersection safely, we pulled over and proceeded to laugh hysterically. We still laugh about it to this day!
CATHY BELL & LAUREN BELL HEINZ
What is one thing you love most about your daughter?
Cathy: I love how much fun she is to be around. She lights up and is such a great person. There are way too many things that I love about Lauren. She truly is our world. As her Mom I love her dearly but as she has become this amazing person I love the way others love her too. She is as genuine as you see!
What is the best advice your mom ever gave you?
Lauren: My mom always encouraged me to be comfortable being uncomfortable. She was always pushing me out of my comfort zone to do things I was scared of or did not really want to do. It is the best lesson she has ever taught me and I am extremely grateful for it.
Tell me something that you do that reminds you of your mom.
Lauren: One of the many things my mom and I have in common is our love for a party! We love to plan little parties for our friends and families. Growing up she always threw parties it felt like every other month and that is definitely something I have taken after! We are all about any themed event!
What is your favorite memory together?
We planned a wedding last year and honestly for both of us spending quality time together going to all the appointments and the planning process is something we will both always cherish.
VICKI DRAPER & DANA DRAPER
What trait(s) did your daughter inherit from you?
Vicki: Giving back to the community is one trait she inherited from me as well as her love for family and dedication to being a mom.
What is one thing you love most about your daughter?
Vicki: Her heart, how she loves unconditionally. That is my favorite thing about my daughter. One lesson taught in life is she has learned to look at people’s heart and not the color of their skin, handicap or social status.
What is the best advice your mom ever gave you?
Dana: If you put your faith in people, you will always be disappointed, but if you put your faith in God, he will never disappoint you.
What is one thing you love most about your mom?
Dana: There are so many things I love about her, but my favorite would be her unfaltering love. I know I can always go to her house and feel like I’m home.
Tell us about some things you enjoy doing together.
Dana: We enjoy shopping together. It is always an adventure. My mom seems to think she is often smaller than she actually is and tends to get “stuck” in clothing at times.
What is your favorite memory together?
Vicki: The birth of my granddaughter Rylee and praying I would be a good example for her. I prayed that through God we would be the best parents and grandparents He wanted us to be to mold her into the wonderful young lady she is today.
Dana - My favorite memory was when I became a mom. My mom was by my side the entire time. It was a very special moment to share with her. At that point, I fully understood the love you have for a child, which is the love she has for me.
MARY McCAULEY & REBECCA CALVERT
What trait(s) did your daughter inherit from you?
Mary: Compassion and thoughtfulness towards others.
What was your daughter like as a child?
Mary: She was independent, strong willed and was a very good sister to her younger brother.
What was your favorite part of motherhood?
Mary: Seeing all of their accomplishments and watching my kids turn into the adults they are today.
What is one thing you love most about your daughter?
Seeing her be a mother to her three kids!
What is the best advice your mom ever gave you?
To put yourself in other people’s shoes and not give up once you have started something. I hope to instill these things in my kiddos too! And to shop at Marshalls (we still do together!)
What is one thing you love most about your mom?
Her deep love for me and my family. It is never a conditional kind of love and I try to never take it for granted!
Tell me something that you do that reminds you of your mom.
We are both independent but also deeply love our people and we do it well.
Tell us about some things you enjoy doing together.
We love going to concerts, one of our favorite artists is Amos Lee who we actually got to see last month! We decided we have seen him at least ten times over the years and would go ten more times.