My Mom's Biography

Most people haven't met Oprah Winfrey in their lifetime. My mom, Susie Elizabeth Hobbs was born on April 1st, 1968, in Memphis Tennessee. She had a great childhood, sweet and sour teenage and post-teenage years, and some amazing adult years.
Susie had an awesome childhood, she grew up in Vail, Colorado, with her loving mom and dad, and her older sister. Her childhood affected her as a parent greatly. "It has made me look at myself as a person and I have actually grown more as a person since I have had kids." She really liked her childhood, and it has influenced her very greatly. Her favorite part of her childhood was, "a cabin in a tiny town in Colorado and we would spend a lot of the time there over the summer." They loved their little cabin, Susie brings almost everday, and speaks so fondly of it. She always tell's my sister and I she wishes she could take us there. The customs of her time affected her greatly, compared to today's time. "There was not a lot of technology, ie., computer games, computers, Internet, so we relied more on our imagination and it seemed alot more simple." When she refers to we, she is talking about her loving family. She described her childhood as great. "I grew up with two wonderful parents, who both worked hard. Times were different... we could play outside without checking in with our parents. My parents took me on many family vacations in the car and being together was very important to all of us." She loved her childhood, she speaks of how great it was today growing up in Colorado. She always brings up great things she remembers about her childhood. Her childhood was great, but her teenage years really tried her as a person.
Susie's teenage and post-teenage years were spent in Vail Colorado, and she absolutely loved it there, and still does today. She said if she could go back and talk to her younger self, she would say, "Go for it! I would tell her to not care what other people think. To try out for any sport that interested her." She regrets that, not trying any sports as a teenager. She speaks of how it hurt her as a person to have not tried sports. The person who most influenced her the most was her mom. "My mom... she always taught me to treat others the way you want to be treated." Her mom, named Shirley Ann Graber, sadly died of breast cancer when Susie was 23. She died on April 8th, 1992. She always speaks of how it would have been to meet her mother, for my sister and I. Her greatest regret also happened around the same time. "I can't think of an specific moment, but I wish that I would've finished college. Why? Because I believe you should finish what you start." The reason she dropped out of college was sadly, because her mother was dying, and Susie wanted to take care of her. She went to college at the University of Colorado. These years were trying years, but she met my dad, Erik Langdon Hobbs, just a year after her mom died. Her husband has influenced her also. "He has taught me about compromise." These years were very trying, but she met her husband, and started family because of it, starting her adult years.
Now she lives with my dad, still Erik, and they have been married 15 years. She has two kids, my sister, Jessie Caitlyn Hobbs, 12, and me, Cedar Harrison Hobbs, 14. Her greatest physical achievement came in her adult years. "Completing a triathlon. It helped me become more confident in myself." This is very important to her, because she did no sports as a teenager. She is very proud of it. She would like to see herself in 10 years, "Sorrounded by my family. Why? Because to me there is no greater joy than to be with my family." She loves her family, she is with us or other family all the time. It is her absolute greatest joy. My mom has had some great adult years, and still has many more to come. My mom has lived a great life, so far, and isn't even close to being done influencing others and making others happy.
Susie has lived a great life so far, with her wonderful childhood as she describes it, her trying teenage and post-teen years, and her family oriented adult years. She has made so many people's lives better by just being in their lives, including me. She is a great person.
-Cedar Hobbs