The Token Mother's Day Post

I know, I know...everyone thinks their mom is just the greatest. I'm sure they are...for you. My mom is the greatest for me! In honor of my sweet mom, I'm going to list 28 things I adore about her. 28 is random, I know...but since I've known her for 28 years....28 it is!

1. She is so incredibly selfless. She would give anything to anybody and do anything for anybody. Really.

2. When we were little, there were the "bad kids" in the neighborhood. Most other parents seemed to ban their own children from being near them. Not my mom. She knew that these kids simply just needed some love and a better example. They were always welcome at our house. I know they felt the love, and even now, years later, I feel the love and try to do that same thing.

3. One time...ha, scratch that, it happened more than once....we'd be heading to bed on a Sunday night around 10, when one of us would say, "Mom! I need __________ for school tomorrow!"
It was usually something like black pants for Nick's choir performance, or a poster board for a class of mine or something that of course would be tricky to find and wouldn't be in the house. So, she'd head to the store at midnight and get what we needed.

4. Whenever my dad was out of town, my mom would let us sleep in her bed. Isn't that just the most fun a kid could have? I bet it's not so fun for the crammed, being-kicked parent!

5. One of those times, my mom and I were dozing off and heard a noise. Creaky, but with a few bangs...possibly steps. We were terrified. We were just sure the house was being robbed and we'd be left to die. We were all cuddled up in the middle of the bed, not sure what to do...when we realized we had started the dishwasher before bed and it was right above us in the kitchen! Ha! Those things are noisy!

6. My mom and I are both night owls. We could stay up until 2 or 3 in the morning, then sleep until 9 or 10 and be just great. We have so many memories of staying up, eating, and laughing...or as my dad would say, "cackling". Nothing like a bag of potato chips and a funny story to get us going.

7. Speaking of potato chips....we both LOVE the folded over ones. You know, the crunchy good ones!

8. Once, we got on a cleaning charade and cleaned my whole room. Most moms probably would have just yelled at me to clean my room and made me do it myself. Not my mom. We gutted everything and reorganized. It was so fun to do it together and such a good lesson for me. When we finished, it was about 2 A.M. and we were tired. But we were also hungry. So, down to Dee's we went! Had our early morning breakfast with all the crazies out that late and went home to bed.

9. The dripping glue, and the ring and necklace to go with it. Treasured forever.

10. When we were little, I never remember our home being out of order. She kept our house spotlessly clean. Windex in hand at all times! I'm sure I never appreciated this at the time, but now...whew. It's hard work to keep a home clean. And it really does change the atmosphere and mood of the home to have a clean, organized living space. She always made sure we had that.

11. It's been so fun to see my mom be a grandma. She ADORES Will and is so good to him. They have so much fun together.

12. Not only is she good to Will, but to me as I begin the adventure of motherhood. When I call with questions or need help, she can give me good ideas of what to try. She's never judgmental or forceful, just gives thoughts.

13. When she met RJ, she loved him and knew he was the one for me. She has always been kind to him and welcomed him entirely into the family.

14. Especially the way she welcomed him to Easter dinner a few months before we got married....We all sat down to a nice dinner out on the patio. Beautiful garden, decorations, matching serving bowls. It was all just perfect. Then we looked down. Each of us had a full-size, laminated placemat...a picture of RJ playing the baton in a performance when he was about 6 years old! Ha! It's the funniest picture.

15. When we were planning our wedding, my mom was so helpful. She was completely fine to have and do whatever we wanted. You know how some mothers get CRAZY about what they want? Nope, my mom was completely fine with how we wanted it. Well, except those ugly raised motorcycle/Precious Moments looking announcements she wanted us to get....ha. Remember mom? Those were awful.

16. I rarely remember my mom being sick in bed with a cold or the flu. She got them, in fact, she gets bad allergies every season. But she hides it well. She's not the type that will wither away in bed, feeling sorry for herself. She'll get up and get going.

17. Ha, one time she was cleaning the kitchen and I was in my room. All the sudden, I heard violent coughing from the kitchen. I rushed in. I got her water, patted her back...didn't know what to do. I was about to call 911, when the coughing eased. After some water and deep breaths, she could tell me what happened. She was trying to get a drink of her iced tea...but instead of picking up the glass, she picked up the Ajax container that was right next to it. Without looking, she put it to her lips. Of course she pulled it away at that point, but enough was in her mouth to make all the coughing start. It was so scary!

18. My mom has the kindest heart. She will ALWAYS believe the best about anybody. (Well, ok, except for a democratic politician! We don't talk politics in our family!) But really, I remember once we were eating at a restaurant (Hires, maybe?) and the waitress was just awful. She was nice, and meant well, but just kept forgetting things, couldn't answer the questions, that kind of thing. While most people would complain, my mom gave her a bigger tip, saying, "It's probably her first day. Or maybe she's just had a bad day."

19. Speaking of being charitable, she'll always buy from those workers that sell garbage bags and such for some kind of charity (Who is that?!). Even if she has to say no to someone selling something, she's kind and apologetic. She's not a door-slammer!

20. She has always made birthdays a BIG deal and it's so fun! The house is decorated, you get your favorite meal, favorite dessert, it's YOUR day! That was fun growing up, but it's even still fun as an adult.

21. For birthday gifts, she really tries to find something you will like and use. She's very good at finding these goodies. It's always very heartfelt, and wrapped gorgeously. When we were younger and would ask for money, she didn't just give money in a card. She would find some creative way of making it fun. I think one year she rolled bills all over a plant or something. Way more fun than just cash in a card.

22. Probably the thing I admire most about my mom is her empathy. If someone is sad, she is sad. If someone is excited, she is excited. And she's not superficial. If you have something exciting going on, she wants to know the exact time so she can be thinking of you at that moment. Then she'll call to find out how it went.

23. She's just FUN! Any of my friends could tell you that, she's just fun! We just have fun being together, doing nothing! We can talk and laugh for hours. One time we went shopping in Salt Lake. Between Tai Pan and Ikea, I think we were out 9 hours. Most of it was just wandering the aisles, talking and laughing.

24. It does not matter what time I call my mom, or for what reason, she always seems happy to hear from me. Even if she's in a hurry, she will chat for a minute first, then ask if she can call me back later. She's never rude or rushed or wanting to know why I called.

25. I know I already said she sends the best gifts....but her care packages in college! Ha, one Valentine's Day, I got a big box. Inside....candy, a card, a roll of Valentine toilet paper! Hearts and cupids all over! Hilarious. Oh, and there was a little stuffed rat...with blond hair! It was so oddly cute....but it gets better. When you squeeze it, it plays a Nelly song, "I love you...baby, I need you...." HA!

26. Not only can my mom and I talk for hours....but we find the same things funny. Someone will say or do something and we will just erupt in laughter while my dad and brothers just stare. Get us going late at night and pretty much anything is funny.

27. My favorite mom story....we were out running errands and drove past a local high school. On the marquee, it said, "Can drive Feb.25". My mom said, "Hum. That's fun...I wonder who can drive. I bet it's like the football captain or the student body president that is getting his license on that day. He's probably so excited that he'll be able to drive so he put that up there." She was going on and on about who it could be that was driving. Once I figured out her mistake, I couldn't stop laughing to tell her! I finally got the words out to explain that it was a FOOD drive for canned items! We laughed so hard.

28. And...the best thing about my mom? How she raised us. I genuinely think she did a stellar job of raising 3 honest, hard-working kids. We were never really spanked or punished by losing privileges, or grounded....but somehow we became adults that are empathetic toward others and want to do what is right. This probably had a factor in my lack of rebellion. One time in high school, I wanted to sneak out, of course to see a boy, at about 2 A.M. But...I was afraid that if my mom woke up and saw that I was gone, she'd be worried that something happened to me. (ha, not that I'd get in trouble, but that she'd worry...I was such a dork!) So, I left a note. Granted, I fibbed on the note and said that I was with a (girl) friend. I told her to call me if she needs me to come home. Of course, she got the note and called me, and yes, she did want me home and not out with some boy at 3 in the morning! We never wanted to cause trouble, because it would be rude to our parents...and we liked them! I think a lot of teenagers don't care what consequence their behavior has for their parents. I mean, sure, we were teenagers for sure, but we genuinely liked our parents and wanted to do our best for them. I think that's a hard feat to accomplish as a parent...to not threaten your kids so much that they're scared not to behave, but to have them see WHY they should behave correctly and make them want to choose that course. I think my parents accomplished this by example. They're just good people. And I love them!

My mom's mom passed away when my mom was only 9 years old. For most of her life, she didn't have a mom to model how to be a mom. While I can't imagine, can't even fathom, that...she somehow learned how to be a trusting and kind mom, and how to take care of a home, and how to cook and clean. She's the best role model I've ever had, and I thank God for her everyday in my prayers.

Happy Mother's Day, mom! I love you dearly, and I admire you so much. Thanks for all you've ever done, and mostly for the example you've set for me as I learn how to be a mom.