My Mom
I'm not sure why, but I've been thinking about my mother a lot recently. I haven't seen my family in over two years and I miss them all. They're all amazing, but I definitely have an amazing mother!

Whenever I think of her, I automatically have a smile on my face, and remember all the fun times with her. She doesn't conform to any typical ideas of a mother. When she married my father she was an unmarried woman with an illegitimate daughter (my oldest sister). She got pregnant from her boyfriend from high school, which was a major shocker back in those days. She was also voted the most beautiful and popular in her high school graduating class.

My father was studying to be a doctor when they met, and after getting married, my dad had a "calling" and became a minister, which was the last thing she intended to marry. She wasn't at all religious. She swears, can be hilariously vulgar, is flirtatious, and speaks her mind. Ironically, the church congregations loved her, because she was so untypically the "minister's wife." My mother is never false, and she lives her life true to her own values and morals.

She talks, a lot. Ever since I was a child when she was pushing me in my stroller, she talked to me. As a teenager, we would suntan in the backyard together, and she'd talk. She's a brilliant and interesting talker - she can make every topic interesting. My sisters talk a lot also, but I was more quiet and introspective. To this day, I love people who are engaging orators. I love to listen. I listen to talk radio, because it reminds me of being with my Mom...being talked to. It's relaxing for me.

My Mom is a super-mom. She's very intelligent and creative (she studied ballet, voice and music), she's a great writer, and everything she put her mind to she accomplished. She has major managerial skills, can organize anything but above all, she loves to entertain and love people. At the same time, she's a perfectionist and expects the best from people.

I remember when I was about 9 years old, us kids had made a mess with all of our toys around the house. She got a phone call from a parishioner who was going to come over within 30 minutes. She didn't want the parishioner to see our place a mess, so she made a game out of cleaning things up. She gathered us kids together and said, "We need to make this place look tidy within 20 minutes!" We were laughing and giggling while pushing our toys into closets, under the bed, putting dirty dishes into cupboards and so on. It was so dramatic! We managed to get the house looking good by the time the parishioner came over.

I remember sitting at the diningroom table with my mom and sisters, while she was sewing. My little sister was just born. But she had all of us around her, while she was sewing, entertaining us with wonderful talk and conversation.

My Mom knew all about cooking, and owned every tool on the planet related to cooking, and she could cook a brilliant meal when having guests. But overall, she hated cooking. When I was a teenager, the favourite thing that she would make me for lunch was creamed asparagus on toast. We shared this special love together.

My mother drove us all over everywhere. All the time, from when we were children to when we were teens. As an adult, I found out that she drove us as kids when her driving license was invalid for several years. Typical of my mother's radical nature. She loved to tease us, by pushing on the breaks unexpectedly, or turning a corner quickly, making us fly around the car, causing adrenaline and laughs. It was like a roller coaster. We loved it.

We loved to hang out with my mother on her bed, watching tv, while giving her scalp massages. She loved having her scalp massaged, with nails, very hard. We also used tweezers to pluck out her grey hairs. She had the occasional pimple on her back, which I'd squeeze for her. She loved it when it hurt. She returned the favour when I was a teen.

When I was sick and stayed home from school, she would let me cuddle up in her bed watching tv, and make us milk shakes and ice cream sundaes with marshmellow and chocolate topping. Secretly, she loved it when we were home from school and had people to talk to.

When my mother was going through something emotionally (she'd never discuss this with us) she'd play the piano for three hours in the evening. I remember falling asleep to her playing Chopin, Bach or many other wonderful tunes. She studied piano at university.

My mother and father never argued in front of us.

When I was 15, my mother found a pack of "cigarettes" in my bedroom. They were actually herbal cigarettes (I can't remember their name now) but they smelled like marijuana, which she had never smoked. She brought them with her to work, and while on her break, she smoked one in the back room. She nearly got fired, because the owner thought she was smoking pot. She laughs about it to this day.

My Mom makes every holiday into a memorable event. My dad, as a minister, was as poor as a church mouse, but my Mom managed to save money all year long, and make our Christmas the most amazing celebration of consumption. We had presents galore, and my father was upset by it, but he always gave in to my mother, because she had strong ideals. We had Lent calendars which started a month before Christmas, with special gifts for each day. Easter, Thanksgiving and Valentine's Day were momentous, with family gatherings and dinner. My Mom made me heart shaped sandwiches for lunch, cut out with her cookie cutters. I had heart shaped cakes.

For birthdays, we were allowed to choose our cake and menu. It was "our day." I loved fruit salads (ha-ha) and Angel Food Cake. So that's what we'd have.

Okay, so now I'm crying. It was something about that last entry that affected me. It's no wonder I don't have a partner. How can any person ever live up to my Mom and Dad? I grew up expecting that others would be as loving and terrific, but they're not. Most of my other boyfriends haven't had such great parents.

Nevertheless, I wouldn't give up my experience for anything.

I love you, Mom.