Because I may have, on occasion, given my mother a hard time on this blog, I thought I’d take a moment and mention some of the things I love about her. While there are THOUSANDS of great things I could write about, I’ve narrowed it down to three.
1. She doesn’t care what people think.
How awesome would that be? Imagine the freedom! One Christmas, my sister decided to buy my mother a pair of white, wooden deer to put on the front lawn. My parents owned a Bed & Breakfast at the time right in the center of town. Months later I was in town to plan my wedding and found that the deer were still in the front yard. When a friend asked if the deer would be taken down in time for the wedding, I answered, “of course!” Uh….that’s not what SHE heard. She heard from some ladies around TOWN that the deer were permanent residents. I ran straight to my mother to let her know the WHOLE town was talking about her and the Christmas deer and the fact that they were still in the yard and this was JULY and that I would be holding my wedding reception there in two months! So she did what anyone would do under the circumstances. She had a seamstress make a bow-tie for one and a veil for the other. My mother doesn’t let a little thing like small town gossip get her down. Now THAT is cool.
2. She has low expectations.
I have a good friend with three children. Every single one of them is crazy successful…taking her and her husband on all-expense-paid trips to Hawaii successful. She’s very proud of them. But my mother is just as proud of us. I’ve heard her tell her friends, “I have good kids. Not ONE of them is on drugs or in jail.” I have to say it’s taken a lot of pressure off. If I can avoid Meth and incarceration, I’ve made my mother happy. Well done, Mom, well done.
3. She’s funny.
Okay, not USUALLY on purpose, but she has the wonderful ability to laugh at herself. With a family like ours, it’s a good trait. Cause we LOVE to tell Mother stories. Like the time she told us how she kept her new car so clean – SOS pads. I can still see the look on my dad’s face. We tell that story at least once at every family get-together and she always laughs good naturally. Then she threatens to tell stories on us. Or get her own blog. But not taking yourself or really ANYTHING too seriously is a good way to get through the the craziness of life.
So to recap – she taught us to believe in ourselves, gave us unconditional love, and did it all with a sense of humor. Man, she really SHOULD have her own blog. Maybe even a book.
Happy Mother’s Day, Mom. I love you!
Who needs trips when you have wonderful children