The Mother of All Mother's Days

It's the eve of Mother's Day. And since part of this quest depends on special relationships, I thought it would be fun to write about one of my most special relationships-- my mom. 

Now I should preface this by saying my mom usually gives me grief when I write about her. But, after 39 years, she's pretty much accepted that I'm going to :). She's a very good sport. 

I'll start at the very beginning, well technically her very beginning. She was the only child of two amazing people. While my grandfather passed before my parents married, my Nanny (grandmother) and mom certainly kept him alive through photos and stories. And he must have been amazing because he captured my Nanny's heart. And she was by far the most awesome person ever. She taught me the significance of white roses and red roses on Mother's Day, why it was important to keep my drink away from the edge of the table at dinner (I'd still knock it over every time), how to unconditionally love people and how to take care of everyone in your path. I miss her every day and will certainly drink a coke and have a whatchamacallit in her honor on Sunday. 

So with all this awesomeness, my mom was created. I can't speak to time before I was born, but she has cracked me up on more than one occasion with stories of small town antics, friends taking flight from her balcony, and how she was lucky enough to find my sweet dad at her doorstep one evening (literally). 

I was a difficult birth. It's a long story. But, it created a bond between my mom and I early on. My Nanny was the more naturally maternal of the two and was a key figure in our lives early on, but I always wanted "momma."  My sister and I are only 13 months apart, so we were a handful. I realize now that I'm a grown up how much work children are. I look back on the pictures now and we are all dressed and mom and nanny look so put together and I think, "holy cow, how did they do it?"  

My sister and I joke each other about which traits we get from our parents. We both share their qualities, but it's a safe bet that I got more Martha Jane DNA and Bonnie got more William T DNA. I think it's why I "get" my mom. We don't always agree on things, but I usually get why she feels the way she does. 

I could tell so many stories about our life, but instead, I've picked my top four descriptions of mom to celebrate her today:

1. She has two children by birth, and 200,000+ by education. My mom taught for decades and she can look at a random grown up in a store and call them by name because she taught them 20 years ago. She knows their mom's name and every sibling they had even if she didn't teach that sibling. It happens all the time. Kinda like walking around with the Pope because they always want to hug her and tell her their life story. I usually just say hello and wander away at at socially acceptable time so they can catch up. 
2. She likes decor. Her house always has something interesting popping up. Need to find a realistic battery powered candle-- done. How about tassels for your lampshade or armoire--done. Need pillows of all shapes and sizes-- done. I joke her about it all the time, but truthfully she picks out lovely things. And when I can get her to Akron, she comes through for me. I looked for eight months for an area rug in the living room. She's in town 24 hours and I get a text at work with a photo of the perfect rug. She nailed it. She's like the decor whisperer. We don't always like the same things, but when given the mission, she can usually find something I like. 
3. She loves her friends. And she has a ton of them. She has more friends on Facebook than I do. I admire how she stays in touch with them and I know how she loves getting together with them. We share that love of people.
4. She loves me. Lord, she puts up with me rambling every night on the phone. She remembers who I talk about and what I talk about. She asks me about stuff that I never thought she'd remember. And even though I know she would like to still have me living upstairs at home, she's let me do my thing and have my own adventures. That's the ultimate love. 

There's more I could say, but I better stop here. Thanks for indulging me on my Mom moment. I won't get to be with her this year for Mother's Day, but hopefully she will enjoy this and know how much I truly love her. I'm a lucky girl. Happy Mother's Day Mom!