Mother’s Day: Amy Hood teaches daughter to find the good

The name “Mom” may mean a lot to many different people, but for Gibson City native Kristen Hood, “Mom” means selfless.

Her mom, Amy Hood, embodies the definition of the word.

“She’s just constantly thinking of ways to help others,” Kristen said. “One of her gifts is gift-giving and just figuring out how to be of service to someone else. 

“She does not have any time for herself. She doesn’t like to do things on her own often. I can’t tell you the last time she shopped for herself; she’s just always constantly doing for other people. 

“It doesn’t matter what time of day it is; she could have no employees show up and somehow she’s still made dinner for, you know, ‘Mary Beth’ down the road because she’s not felt well this week.”

Amy’s spirit has not only made a mark on Kristen’s heart, but it’s why Jim, someone she dated in high school, came back from college to be with her. 

“He said that he wanted to go back out with her because she was by far the best person he had ever met,” Kristen said. 

Amy grew up on a farm in Sibley, 12 miles from where Jim grew up in Gibson City.

There Amy learned independence, hard work and resourcefulness.

“As a female, she always reminds me, ‘I grew up on a farm. I can do it.’” Kristen said. “Like ‘I can do anything. I grew up on a farm. I can run this, I grew up on a farm.’”

That sense of self-empowerment, reflected in what both Amy and Jim did, influenced Kristen, who now teaches second grade at Middletown Elementary.

“She’s a big pull up your bootstraps girl,” Kristen said. “She’s a go-getter and she likes to problem-solve, and she likes to help.”

“She’s always instilled in me, do what you can, where you’re at with what you have.”

Growing up, Kristen saw this modeled in her mother’s actions time-and-time again. 

“If there’s someone who needs any help, no matter what’s on our agendas, or what we have planned, they always come above us,” she said. “Always. Someone else’s needs come before us. And she was always constantly reminding me that our time here on Earth isn’t about us; it’s about how we are with other people and how we treat other people and what we can do for them.”

Even though Amy had everything from running a business, to being there for people and running a household on her plate, Kristen always knew that the three children that lived under the Hoods’ roof always came first.

After reuniting, Jim and Amy moved out west to Colorado with one small child to pursue a job opportunity, leaving their parents and siblings in East Central Illinois. While the mountainous region is a family favorite, which the Hoods visit together often, the opportunity to take over ACE Hardware in Gibson City and have their children grow up near family was one that the Hoods could not pass up.

ACE Hardware became a family affair with grandparents and cousins from both sides of Kristen’s family working under one roof.

Known as “Sweet Honesty” over the ACE radios, Amy not only enjoys helping customers find the right tool or supply, or even gift in the Gibson City store, but she also is someone people know they can talk to.

It’s not unusual for Gibson City patrons to call to talk to Amy rather than call to ask for a product.

“She can connect with almost anybody about anything,” Kristen said. “When (people) speak to her, they feel safe and comfortable; able to share and ask her anything and not feel stupid or not feel judged.”

Kristen said her humble mother would be shocked to hear her say it, but she said it’s true.

“She’s sweet, and just that attracts everyone with her personality. She’s not loud, she likes to listen and hear what’s going on. People know she’s dependable, like if they need something she is there.

“People want to get to know her and want to do things for her. I think that comes out of a form of respect for her; they respect her opinion and they value how she sees them.”

Not only has Amy helped run the store, but she also taught Sunday School and made sure that her daughter always knew that her mom would be by her side.

According to Kristen, Amy brought the term “soccer mom” to a new level.

“She coached with my little brother on her back,” Kristen remembered. “She coached my (older) brother and my soccer teams with Joel, my younger brother, just sitting in that little thing on her back.”

As the kids got older, she no longer had to wear a toddler carrier on her back, but Amy made sure that the store was closed in time to watch her children play in sports as they got older.

Kristen, who played sports, was in dance, was the student council president, head of FCA (Fellowship of Christian Athletes), said that her mom was her right-hand woman during that time.

“She was like my Robin to me being Batman,” she said.

“They used to close the store at 5:30 because my game started at 6:00. (My parents) were at every single one of my sporting events. They were at all of my recitals.They showed up to my big moments. 

“That was really important to them; even though it probably could have helped them to stay open later.”

Somehow, Amy always had dinner ready for the kids in between the end of the school day and the time they had to be back to play. 

“She wanted to host, so all of our friends always hung out at our house,” Kristen said. “My mom loved to make monster cookies for everybody or big ol’ pizzas.

“I don’t know if I appreciate her as much as I do now.”

Amy and Kristen’s relationship has grown from a mother-daughter relationship to a friendship where they continue to rely on each other’s insight and perspective. 

“It’s been really fun, becoming friends,” Kristen said. “There are things that I never thought I’d talk about with my mom that we get to talk about now.”

It’s also allowed for Amy to share more of her thoughts and feelings about her daughter.

“I didn’t realize she found me as funny as she does,” Kristen said. “I thought she thought that when I was making these jokes, I thought she found it annoying growing up, but apparently I make her laugh really hard.

“She has even had to hang up the phone before, because she thinks I’m so funny that she has to walk out of the room. I didn’t know that.

“I feel like our moments have changed in the sense of, there’s a lot more respect for each other.”

Their mother-daughter relationship was also a learn-as-you-go experience. Amy would often tell Kristen, “you know you don’t have a manual, so I’m learning as I go.”

The learn-as-you-go model ended up with Kristen knowing that no matter what else was going on in the world, Amy would always be there for Kristen.

“I think as a kid, knowing that you’re the top priority, not their whole world, but you matter; when you call, they’ll come. That’s probably been the most important thing for me in my adult life: the moments that they know I just need them to show up.”

Above all, Kristen respects her mom’s insurmountable faith in God.

While they don’t always see eye-to-eye, Amy modeled a willingness to trust the path that she was on.

“You don’t have to have all the answers all the time,” Kristen said. “And that’s really hard for me but really okay with her.”

A competitive woman, Kristen likes to be informed, even to the point where she will Google a word in the middle of a conversation if she doesn’t know what it means. But Kristen said that her mom is okay with not knowing.

“She lives sometimes like, just trust that it’s all going to be fine and we’ll figure it out,” Kristen said.

While Amy’s gift may be gift-giving, Kristen’s love language is quality time. Through Amy’s willingness to set time aside for her daughter, Kristen has had a chance to get to know more about the relationship between her parents and her grandparents.

To Kristen, her parents relationship is magical. 

“It sounds really silly, but my parents are like unicorns,” she said. “I love to talk about their relationship because it’s rare, in my opinion.”

“My parents have the same relationship that both my grandparents had on both sides, but they have a working relationship and personal relationship, and they are constantly working as a team and they’re constantly uplifting each other.”

As Jim would go out to play basketball with his buddies, he would wish that his wife would also be there.

Kristen remembers him saying that as he was having fun, he’d miss Amy because in his heart, he didn’t want to experience fun without her, because Amy is the fun.

“Being with her is part of it and I don’t want to leave her out,” Jim would say, according to Kristen.

Even after decades of working side-by-side at ACE, Kristen said that Amy has always come first for Jim and Jim has always come first for Amy.

“They have this mutual respect for each other’s intellect and time and energy,” Kristen said.

“We know exactly how they feel about each other. 

“I wouldn’t say they’d never argue, but they didn’t argue often in front of us; they would agree to disagree. 

“And my father would always take my mother’s side, no matter what, whether she was right or wrong, they’d figure that out later, but they wouldn’t disagree with her in front of us.

“He would never undermine her or her intelligence or her authority in front of us and same for her with him.”

Having to deal with business finances, personal finances, loss of loved ones, and transitioning from one stage of life to the next, Kristen said that watching her parents has taught her that communication and transparency are key to any relationship.

Kristen and her brothers thought that what they had witnessed between their parents and grandparents was the norm as they began to go out into the world, but they quickly realized that their parents’ love was an exception. 

For the Hoods it’s been “team all the way.”

Team Hood has impacted the Gibson City and Mahomet communities a great deal.

Jim and Amy were always looking for ways to brighten the lives of those around them by providing a space for everyone to belong: even Santa Claus.

For years, Amy and Jim headed up the Gibson City Lighted Holiday Parade. As the town prepared for the arrival of Santa, Santa and Mrs. Claus were being wined and dined at the Hood residence.

“Santa stays with my mom and dad,” Kristen said. “She takes them to the German restaurant, gives them a few Jolly beers and makes a big breakfast.”

One of Kristen’s favorite memories is coming home after after-prom to a waffle bar for all her friends.

“They had all the toppings: marshmallows, peanut butter and blueberries. She just had like a whole spread and it looked amazing.

“She loved to have people at our house, and to host,” Kristen remembers. “Part of it, I think, was also just to keep an eye on everybody, but I think she just loved to be part of it and know what was going on in her kids lives.”

Amy’s willingness to share those moments and experiences with her children is what Kristen wants to take into these next phases of her life.

“My mom was big on taking in the little things, like little moments,” she said. “She wanted us to recognize when really good things happen. She liked to capitalize on those things and remind us just to take a pause in life and look at them and see how they were.”

Today, in the midst of a pandemic, Kristen is using some of her time to help at Mahomet’s ACE Hardware as they continue to modify operating a business in uncertain times.

Even though some parts of the world may seem mucky, Kristen is relying on what her mom taught her.

“The world’s pretty dark and there’s a lot of things wrong, but if you can find the glitz, the little pieces of glitter that reflects all the light that’s out there, then it can be a really special place.”