And another.

Today is my mom's birthday. For those of you who don't know me, she's...my mom. :)

My mom has been my rod and staff. Not just through the past couple of months. But always. If you know my mom, you've probably never seen her in a rotten mood. That's how she is at home, too. You rarely see her not smiling. My mom is the epitome of what a mom should be. One of the best memories I have to prove this is from high school. I was in band (yes, I'm one of those) and we used to have a lot of competitions. Every Saturday in October and then some throughout the year. My mom supported my brother and me through every one of these. She was always in the stands, rooting us on. In my family, we treated it like sports. :) When I was a junior, my mom and I got into a fight. Big surprise in high school (read that with a heavily sarcastic tone). It just so happened that this was the morning of a competition. I left for school. During the performance, I scanned the crowd for my mom. And didn't see her. My heart sank because she wasn't there. The performance ended and we all gathered in the parking lot to hear a "lecture" from the director. I'm thinking it was supposed to be a pep talk, but in high school, everything's a lecture. And there she was. On the outskirts of our circle...listening. Of course she'd been there the whole time. I just didn't see her because, come to find out, I had horrible vision and didn't wear contacts at the time.

And that's my mom. Her kids are her life. I work with her (I teach and she's the secretary at the same school) and my brother lives behind her. There's even a gate in the fence. I don't know how she did it, what her secret was/is, but when the time comes for me to have kids, I hope I can raise them to love me like my brother and I love her.

So, here's to my mom. You're one of the coolest people I know. Hope your birthday was fantastic and you enjoyed your night. I'll love you always!