My Mom

How about a big happy birthday shout-out to my mom? Happy Birthday, Mom. I love you so much!

I was thinking about her on the drive in to work today, looking forward to our planned lunch together. She's amazing, no doubt about it. She's the reason I stay sane and have been able to keep up my part-time career all these years. She's a great listener and a great sounding board for ideas and concerns. She loves a good fillet Mignon and has taught my kids that there's really nothing else quite as delicious. She loves shoes, maybe even more than me. She's my cooking consultant, my sewing mentor, the hardest worker, my fellow party-planner in crime, and the most devoted mother I know. On the days I work, she thinks ahead about what she could do to help make our night run more smoothly upon my return - little things like giving the two youngers a quick bath before we pick them up, or sending home some dinner. Things that amount to a whole heck of a lot after a long day away. Things I wish I was there doing, but so appreciate the surrogate mom that she is when I'm not. It's always been, and probably always will be, a balancing act trying to manage work and all the things that mom-hood entails. Mostly, I think we do a pretty decent job at our house keeping the scales in check and running a smooth house with happy occupants who are leading productive lives. No doubt, we have our days, just like everyone. We're lucky that Ryan has a lot of flexibility as his own boss and is such an active player on our team and that my mom is so great to help out. Truly, my mom is charity personified and I have been blessed all my life to not only learn from her example, but to also reap the benefits of her unending love.

My kids are blessed beyond measure to have her in their lives, too. I don't think they realize how good they have it living just down the street. Barrett sits by my mom every single Sunday in church (in the row right behind us) and doesn't know anything different. Afton writes her first draft of her weekly paragraph every week with grandma's brainstorming help. Rowan gets so much love from Grandma Cin and a much needed listening ear. And Buddy Boy is her little sidekick. They have a great relationship for sure since they have a handful of hours together alone every week.

Lately, when Easton and I are heading out for errands, he quizzes me about the exact stops we'll be making in our route, as if trying to decide whether it's worth his while to tag along or not (as if he has a choice). He's wising up and realizing that mom's errand list pretty much stinks these days (one more run to Imperial Tile, hunting valley-wide for replacement granite, heading to Lowes - yet again, etc.) Just a couple more weeks, Buddy. We're getting so close and it's looking o-so-fabulous-o! So lately, when the run down of the planned stops doesn't quite pass muster in his 5-year old world, Buddy pleads, "Can't you just call Grandma? I don't want to go shopping." He knows he just might have an out.

So thanks, Mom, for being there for me and all of us and loving us like you do. Happy Birthday! I hope 2011 is fantastic for you.