Happy Mother's Day!

Today being mother's day, I had different thoughts running through my head about cultural expectations of mothers, and media representations, and the work that goes into being a mom, and the role of motherhood in feminism, but...

I deleted all my thoughts on those.

Because really, I just want to say I have an awesome mom.  She is like me in many ways, and utterly unlike me in many other ways.  When I was younger, we didn't always get along so well.  Even now, we often disagree.  But she's awesome, and she was a really good mom.  

She did, and does, small little things to show me that she cares-- thoughtful things that are really sweet and unnecessary.  Like making my favorite kind of cookies, and waking me up when i visit home instead of having me set my alarm.  Going shopping with me, and letting me pick movies when we go to them together.  

Some specific things I remember from years ago-- when I was a kid, I used to have this unicorn, that rotated and played a song when you wound it up.  i knocked it off the highest dresser in my room one day, and even though my floor was carpeted, it still shattered.  My mom glued all the tiny pieces back together again.

I also had a small stuff cat that I carried literally EVERYWHERE.  To the point that the cat came off to college with me... to law school with me... and now has a place on our bookshelves.  Judge all you want, but that kitty has sentimental value.  Anyway, sewn to the cat's mouth is this small little pillow with the words "With Love" written on it.  Except... the pillow fell off.  So my mom sewed it back on.  And it fell off again.  and she sewed it on again.  All the way up until I was old enough that I sometimes left if in my room and it wasn't treated quite as harshly.  Granted, the pillow was probably only falling off all the time for a year of so, because time feels longer when you're a kid, but my mom rescuing and fixing White Kitten (creative naming, huh?  There was also a Grey Kitten that wasn't nearly as soft or cute, and which was discarded.) every single time meant a LOT to me as a kid.  And hell, it means a lot to me now.  She didn't have to do it, but she did, repeatedly.

And she still does awesome stuff now, but now it's generally more in the talking and being supportive realm, since I can sew and cook and fix things if I break them... and since she lives in another state, we're mostly limited to talking.  But my parents did send JD and me an Easter basket of delicious candy this year, so some small and awesome things are still done even from out of state!  :-)

And, in a coincidence of good timing, I get to see both my parents on Tuesday :-)