Why my mom is special.

There is an obvious reason why I am glad my mother was born (she was able to have me!) but aside from that there are several other reasons why my mother is special to me. My mom's quirky, loving, fun, silly, and caring ways are what shaped me into the person I am today and I couldn't be more thankful. Here is my top ten list of my most thankful qualities my mom has passed on to me:

1. My love for animals. My mom loves every little critter in the universe; she even saved a tarantula from a wasp and kept it alive in a little dirt pot until it was mobile enough to leave. I think we have owned every kind of legal animal and brought home way too many puppies without my dads permission.  She has nursed back wild animals who were left by their mother and always tried returning lost dogs to their owners. My mom has passed on this love for little critters to me and it is something that is very fulfilling in my life.My brother and I both love animals and are always looking to help them. It's not just about loving a creature of this world but it has also taught me responsibility and what it means to love and care for something.

2. My selflessness. My mother is the most selfless human being I have ever met. Every single thing she has been given she would give to me or my brother without a second thought. She is always putting others before herself in everything she does. Having your number one role model be this type of person is one of the greatest gifts. I always strive to be like her in this way and it isn't always easy!

3. My creativity. My mom can make something out of nothing. Anytime we go somewhere and we see something she says, "We can make that!...how can we...let's think". She has passed this creative ability down to me and I am always taking joy in making things.

4. My weirdness. My mom is definitely weird (but in the best kind of way). She will do anything to make my brother or I laugh. She is always willing to play silly games and do funny things so everyone has a good time. I can't even list examples because I wouldn't know where to stop. As I grew up (and still to this day) I was always the weird one in the group (in the best kind of way) because I did silly, embarrassing things so I could see those around me laugh. My brother is the EXACT same way...it's funny how these things pass on.

5. My love for dancing. I am not a professional dancer by any means but I love turning music up loud and dancing around by myself making up moves as I go. My mom grew up dancing and then she was the coach for my cheer team for 4 years. She has always loved dance music and coming up with good routines to go with the beats. Growing up we always had music on and would dance around. I remember in 9th grade my brother and I made a dance routine to Michael Jackson. I wore my moms wedding dress and danced around while my dad filmed. We had Amira and her boyfriend over and my mom served them hors d'oeuvres and cookies...did I say I was in 9th grade?

6. My gratitude. My mom is thankful for every little thing she gets. She grew up with seven brothers and sisters raised by just her dad who had to work multiple jobs to raise his family. My mom never had much growing up but she always talks about the best memories and how much fun she had with so little. It has given me the great pleasure in realizing that you need a minimal number of material things in order to be happy. It's funny because these days it seems like a child's happiness is based off an expensive computer game or smart phone. My moms life was filled with barely any money or material things but adventures beyond your wildest dreams. When I raise my children I hope to pass on the privilege to be grateful for the little things in life that don't cost a cent.

7. My imagination. This stems from what I mentioned above about her wild adventures; my mom can make something that seems pretty boring be really, really fun .Growing up she has always thought of fun games or adventures we could go on. I remember one time she got my neighborhood friends together and had us all make different animal masks of who we wanted to pretend to be...then we had a little play as those characters. I think I was 10 or 11 and I still remember how much fun that memory was.

8. My confidence. My mom loves me more than anything in this world; I know this without a doubt. I know she thinks the world of me and she would do absolutely anything in this world for me. She thinks I am the prettiest person in the world and that I should have been a model. She thinks I am smart and creative and crafty and silly. My mom is my greatest fan and her love and support is what makes me the confident person I am today. Do I think I am the prettiest person and should have been a model? Heck no! ha-ha but I know she thinks that of me and it feels really good.

9. How to have fun working as a team. I mentioned before my mom was the head coach for my cheer team for several years. Our team was always placed in the top spots. We were kind of that team you would see in the movies where we goofed off entirely too much but when it came down to it we worked hard and pulled it off. We picked on my mom all of the time but she loved it.We called her Tracy Brown Terd and she would yell at us...but her yell was like a little mouse so then we would just laugh. She loved cheering, dancing, music, and our team. She would drive us around in her little, bright blue pinto and we would toilet paper the football player's houses. It was some of the best years of my life and I made some ever lasting friendships. My mom was the one who got me into cheer leading and she was the one who motivated all of us to do our best and work hard but always have fun doing it. She never really punished us for goofing off because she knew we were young girls and that it was all part of living life, growing up, working together, and having fun.

10. How to dream. My mother is a dreamer. I could tell her I was quitting my job and opening up pig wash stand and she would think that is really awesome. Let's see some of the businesses my mom was going to open....she was going to have a biscuit and gravy car stop off where people would pull up in their cars and get this tray that would basically be under their chin so that they could drive and eat biscuits and gravy. She was going to have a hot dog stand right outside of the high school because what hungry teenage boy wouldn't want a hot dog? She thought about writing a book about a new exercise she thought of to lose stomach pooch...the exercise was to scoot yourself around on the ground for 30 minutes. When I first met Matt my mom was on speaker phone telling me how she had been scooting around the house for 45 minutes testing her theory...he stayed with me? I mean the list is endless...I always give her a hard time and say, "You dream too much", but then I find myself at home thinking...hmmm...I could do this...or I could do that. The truth is, just because you dream it up doesn't always mean it's going to happen...but to me the fun is in the dreaming. It's a way to keep your mind going and explore every possibility;  even if it's jumping up to touch the moon- it's a fun dream to have. I am thankful my mom has given me this trait in life.

One day if I am lucky enough, I will have children of my own and I think its important to remember that who we are reflects the lives our children will lead. I hope to take every single trait my mother has instilled in me and teach it to my children so that they can live happy, fulfilling lives. My mom makes me want to be the happiest person I can be because when I see my happiness in her eyes it becomes 1,000 times more clear. It's my mom's birthday today and she means the world to me. Happy Birthday, mom.