Mother's Day 2006 - Part 2

After making this box with our wedding photos, I decided to make one for Mom also. Her version had pictures of all of us through the years including a picture of Mom holding me as an infant. To represent her future Grandchild, I put a picture of "I Love You Like Crazy Cakes" (which she had read numerous times to my niece), a picture of a ladybug, the picture of me crying last Christmas when I saw the dress my Mom made for our daughter and a picture of our paperwork. I can't wait to glue a copy of our referral picture somewhere on that box .

Spending Mother's Day with Mom was great. As I get older I realize more and more what an amazing woman she is. I swear when I was 16 she wasn't as brilliant or cool as she is now. Honestly, there are so many things about both of my parents that I took for granted. It seems like a good time to capture a few things that I appreciate about Mom more and more with each passing day.

1. I love that she can laugh until tears run down her face.
2. She has been with my Dad for over 46 years but understands the importance of girlfriends. She has an amazing group of friends. For as many years as I can remember, if you have lunch at a particular restaurant on a Tuesday, you will see a large table of women. One of them may be laughing so hard that she is crying.
3. I appreciate that she never expected my life to be her life. I moved away immediately after graduating from college. (And talked about it long before that.) She has never for a single second made me feel guilty for moving away. Even when I announced one day that I was packing up and moving to Australia, I am pretty sure her response was something like "Great, we will come and visit." And they did. Sure we have both shed tears while saying goodbye at the airport. However, she taught me that remaining close isn't dependent on physical proximity. Just as living close to someone doesn't guarantee a close relationship. There's more to it than that.
4. I am constantly amazed at her energy. I swear there is a super-secret energy source that she has not shared with the rest of the world. Some people look at kids and wish they could "bottle all of that energy." You could say the same thing about my Mom.
5. Growing up there were four of us kids with 13 years difference between the oldest and youngest. For many years, my Dad traveled for work 50% of the time. So she was dealing with potty training, a rebellious teenager and everything in between all at the same time. Although for two weeks out of most months my Dad was out of town, I honestly don't remember her complaining.
6. She is always willing to try something new. She started Yoga in her fifties long before it became "mainstream". (At least in her small town in south Louisiana.)
   
   While home, I also went ahead and gave Dad his Father's Day present which included a great hat purchased from M3's cafepress shop. (Pictures coming) Of course, even though I told Dad it was his Father's Day present, he is always ready with the last word. As he dropped me off at the airport, he said "See you for Father's Day."