Happy Birthday Mom!

Today is my mom's birthday. She is one of the most selfless, thoughtful, kind, generous, and loving people I know. My mother doesn't rest her mind unless she knows that everyone is happy and healthy. If something isn't right in one of our homes, my mom is right there with us in spirit.
There are many things about her that I admire. Here are a few:
--her cooking is amazing. I still have never made mashed potatoes in my life. I don't have to, because when she makes dinner, we get all the fixings. Thanksgiving is really no different from any other big dinner at her house. Her stuffing is.to.die.for.
--her thoughtfulness. She sends out hundreds of birthday and anniversary cards each year. She has a book that keeps tract of those two things as well as deaths. My mom always knows when to let someone know that she is thinking of them.
her ability to put up with my dad. Enough said.
--her ability to put up with me. She and I really can be like oil and water. I am feisty, hot tempered, mellow (for our family), and live in what I like to think of as organized chaos. She is more timid, anxious, and likes to know ahead of time what the plans are. Our tastes clash. I have told her that if she sees something she doesn't like, I probably will like it. We are just that way.
Still, I can tell her anything. I don't feel like she judges me (too much). It's hard not to judge when someone is so opposite of you.
--her unconditional love for her grandchildren. They adore her and she adores them. She will call Ryan on a Saturday morning in the winter to talk Gopher hockey. She cuts out pictures in the newspapers that she things Kate would like to see. She reads endless stories to them. My eyes get tired after two or three books. She could go for hours. I can't even begin to write enough about her on this blog.
--her ability to completely break out of her comfort zone and go to Las Vegas not once, but twice with her girls. We have bonded more in these last two trips that I can even convey. The best part is the laughing we do.

I am the same age now that my mother when she had me. I hope to have her around for a long time. Love you Mom!