after calling (twice) today to make sure my mom knew i was thinking of her on mother's day (i don't know that she appreciated the second call as much since she was working...), i started thinking about why my mom rocks. it wasn't hard to crank out the top five reasons so here they are for your reading pleasure.
top five reasons my mom is awesome
(bold and italicized to help in skimming because you know there's a detailed story with each reason)
1. she didn't let me boss her around. i'm the queen of bossing people, but mom was one person i could never (and still can't) boss. i see kids today calling the shots and wearing the pants in the family and it just strikes me as so wrong. as a child i'm sure i thought i wanted to be the boss, but i never would have survived if i was in charge. i never would have bathed, eaten anything other than blue box macaroni and cheese (the ONLY kind of macaroni in my book), or apologized when i was mean (which was often). now i know the importance of hygiene, that there are other inferior types of macaroni but that i should treat them with respect, and that i need to apologize when i'm a crab (unless it was warranted and i'm not actually sorry because then it's fake and fake apologies are the worst).
2. she always let me use her as an excuse. when i was little, i was always told that if i ever needed to get out of a situation, i could say my mom wouldn't let me or i had to go home. mom obviously didn't care if my little friends thought she was cool. don't worry, i didn't do a lot of bad things, but that might be because i knew i could always fall back on the excuse of 'mom won't let me...rats!' because i knew i had an out, i was able to stand up for myself and only do things i wanted to do. add in the little bit of boss discussed in numero uno and you can imagine i was hard to peer pressure into anything.
3. she let me make mistakes. i think some parents are terrified their children will actually be human and screw up, but my mom wasn't like that (and still isn't...she's too realistic to think yours truly won't screw something up). she didn't want or need my sister and i to be perfect. really she just wanted me to be nice and stop pinching my sister and for my sister to stand up for herself and pinch me back. because of this, she let me make mistakes (although she did make me practice my spelling words a billion times a day because i was atrocious at spelling). when i went to school in alabama, she dropped me off down the road from the school and she would watch, every day, as i took my jacket off and shoved it in my backpack before i even crossed the road. i hated wearing a jacket but in winter, even in alabama, it was "important to dress appropriately." but the thing is, i never knew she could see me take my jacket off. apparently i thought her sight didn't extend past the end of the car. but she let me do it because she knew which battles to pick and she knew eventually i'd get frostbite (or at least a runny nose) and then i'd figure out i needed to wear a coat. this lesson might've taken years, but now i wear my darned coat.
4. she helped me (and still helps me) fix my mistakes. mom might let me make my mistakes, but she doesn't just sit there and tell me to get myself out of my own messes. that's not to say she fixes my problems herself...if i need that, i go to dad (dads just like to be heroes, you know? gotta milk it.). but if i want advice and help fixing some craziness i've gotten into, i know who to track down. even if it means calling 24 times in a row. eventually she always picks up. and after letting me give her every single detail of the situation, in addition to the hypothetical responses i've created, she gives me advice. and after she gives me advice, she tells me to actually do something about it because goodness knows she can't fix my messes. while that directive still gets me all flustered and angry and i usually go melodramatic and whine that she doesn't care about my problems, it always, always makes me actually do something. no more whining and mulling over the events/mistakes/crappiness. i always find a way out (or realize there's no way out and just embrace it).
5. she's my biggest fan. (b, don't tell your boyfriend, but mom's got this position locked up). and yes, she's my sister's biggest fan too. who knew one person could be the biggest fans of two people? it's gotta be tough. but seriously, when i whine about following my blog, she figures out how to do it even if she doesn't want to. and when i tell her i've met the most beautiful boy and i think we're getting married, she patiently listens as i detail our disney world ceremony. one day maybe i'll spin some tale that breaks the mold, but i don't see that happening. she cheers on our (meaning my sister and i) successes, delights in our excitement, hurts when we hurt, and always, always hugs us good morning when we're together (me more than my sister...fiffy's not a hugger like i am).
obviously, my mom rocks. if you're in need of someone that will do any of the previously mentioned things, i'll share my mom with you. within days she'll be your biggest fan too.
