Sunday, May 13, 2012

The Origin of My Awesome

So, my Mom rocks. She rocks so much, my friends send her Mother's Day greetings. Quite simply, my Momma is the coolest. She has the magic ability to let me dream in the clouds without letting my feet leave the ground. Sure, she taught my what most moms teach their children: walking, talking, reading, writing. However, my Mom taught me so much more.

From her I learned strength, generosity, strategy (many a board game played), that country music is the best life soundtrack, how to make the perfect mac'n'cheese and potato salad, how to crochet, how to sew (rudimentary student that I am), that cranberry sauce tastes best from a can, that crazy isn't always a bad thing, how to dress for my body type even as it changed (sorry, women's magazines, she got there first), Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan movies are perfect for any occasion, to appreciate British comedy and English literature, that good grammar and spelling are important, to be attracted to shiny things (magpie runs in the family), that Terry Prattchet, Merecedes Lackey, and Anne McCaffery books make life better, actually that books in general make life better, that sometimes life sucks and you need to have a good cry, that no matter where you live being a Southern woman isn't something that fades, make-up is for special occasions, but face washing is for every day, being a trekkie is a good thing to be, and lastly (for this list because the truth is she taught me everything) that it's better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it. This last statement is exemplified by our large purses that carry everything we (or anyone around us) could possibly need from pain relievers to travel sewing kits, bits of string, and whole families of pens.

The best part is, I know she learned all and/or most of this from her mom, so I'm just getting the latest in a line of matrilineal wisdom.

But I know I've taught Mom some things too: The chorus to "Popular", that I will not be the subject of her mockery (Oh, she thinks I shall), that just because your child hears voices doesn't make her crazy, the difference between crying she needs to come soothe and crying she knows I need to learn to soothe by myself, the names of the eight main characters from Rent plus the two actors on Supernatural and the Torchwood Team, that Saint Augustine is a beautiful town, no matter how old I am, a handmade dress from Momma is far better than anything in a mall.

So on Mother's Day, from clear across the country I say: I LOVE YOU, MOM!