My Dad is a journalist. He has worked for many different newspapers around the country. He is also an incredible writer, and at various times throughout his career, he has written a weekly column for the paper. He has been known for writing about particularly controversial topics. You know, politics and such. But he has also written about our family upon many occasions. Since my mother is his companion…his other half…he eventually established an acronym which he used any time he referred to her in a column. She became known as the “L.L.M.B.”…standing for the “Lovely and Long-suffering Mrs. Beck”. This became an amusing joke among the members of our family. However, as I get farther and farther into motherhood, I am realizing the real truth that lies behind this well-deserved title. But not because she was my dad’s wife…because she was a mother to me and my 3 siblings. My mother is long-suffering, for sure. Right now, I am only 3 years, 3 months, and 9 days