Mom's Birthday

In the spirit of focusing on the positive, I am going to write an entry completely dedicated to my mom.

Today Mom will turn 64. I've never had a biological parent turn 64 before. My step-father is 76, but my dad didn't make it to 61. Sheesh, can you tell how crappy I feel today?

Trying again...

Happy Birthday Mom!!

On her 60th birthday, my sister, brother-in-law, DP and I - along with my step-father - listed 60 nice things about her. Hours and hours of nice things about Mom. Aren't we sweet?

In that spirit, I will attempt to do this again...solo. This time it will be 64 things I like about her.

64. She's funny.
63. She's smart.
62. She's a knitter (she makes really cool Irish Knit sweaters without a pattern).
61. She's creative (seemed to follow quite naturally after #62).
60. She's generous.
59. She's supportive.
58. She's a great Bubbie (Grandma for all you non-Yiddish-aware) to my nieces spelling corrected, thanks Mom.
57. She's energetic.
56. She loves a great sale.
55. She's a great cook.
54. She likes sushi.
53. She tries to show support of the Urban Zoo even though animals are not her thing.
52. She knows lots of things.
51. She enjoys her work.
50. She values education.
49. She is friendly.
48. She is an emotional person (even though she doesn't admit it).
47. She likes to read.
46. She enjoys quilts.
45. She likes to make things.
44. She gives money to charity.
43. She wants donations made to Mazon instead of gifts for her birthday.
42. She lives within 7-10 miles of me (in the past, this would not have been on this list, I've matured).
41. She taught me the importance of thinking for myself.
40. She likes the purple moccasins I got her a few years ago.
39. She uses the word cool as a descriptor of temperature and of value.
38. She finished a PhD with three teenagers zipping around making her nuts.
37. I should mention that she also went through a divorce prior to finishing said PhD.
36. She likes Johnny Cash.
35. She knows what seasonal allergies feel like.
34. At least three times now, she has dialed my number on her cell phone without even realizing it and I've had loooooong messages from her that were actually just her conversation with whomever she had been when her cell automatically dialed me (with a little help from the stuff in her purse).
33. She always calls my sister and me the day between our wedding anniversaries. My sister's is the 7th and ours is the 9th...and my mom can't recall which was which.
32. I never know where she is from day to day (not that I should, but she travels so much for work and for play that it's rather entertaining).
31. She thinks it's "cool" to have a lesbian daughter.
30. Sometimes I'll call her and it sounds like she picks up then hangs up. Later she often tells me it is because she forgot to turn off the ringer on her phone and she was in a meeting.
29. She helped me get my new bike (along with DP).
28. She gave me a unique name.
27. She told me once that she used to stay up until 2am and put in bids on yarn on ebay and got a lot of nice stuff for really cheap.
26. Her stash cast-offs are NICE!
25. She writes good reviews on Yelp.
24. She has no idea how great she is (if she did, she might not be as great).
23. She's taking me to see The Color Purple in July (yay!!)
22. She took me to see Wicked last year (it was a-ma-zing)
21. She's my mom.
20. She makes the BEST grilled cheese.
19. She used to make popcorn (in a pot with oil) before the Sound of Music and we would all sit together and watch it.
18. Straight mom for the queer girls, i.e. she helped plan our wedding before gay weddings were the talk of the town.
17. She takes great photos.
16. She introduced DP to outlet mall shopping.
15. At said shopping excursion she funded a fabulous Anne Klein pantsuit for DP.
14. She makes friends wherever she goes world wide!
13. She totally digs her Palm.
12. It's fun to spend a Sunday afternoon chatting with her.
11. She likes to garden.
10. She calls Petunias Morning Glories.
9. She can whip up a meal for 12 people with seemingly no effort.
8. She loves living in Chicago.
7. She appreciates the access to techno help from DP, but doesn't overuse it.
6. She wanted to go see a drag show and we went several years ago. I think she had more fun than I did.
5. When I was little we had cats called Dr. Jekyl and Clyde.
4. She knows more about the architectural boat tour than the docents do.
3. After she reads a book she likes she always gives it away after she is done.
2. She raised me right.
1. She has impeccable taste.