Happy Birthday, Mom!

I owe you a post about pneumonia, but today is my mom’s birthday and today I want to write about her.  Happy Birthday, Mom. I can’t believe we’re both 29-years-old…weird.

To say my mom and I are close is to say that we look alike. It’s kind of obvious and a slight understatement.

We talk every day. That’s right, daily. Whether it be just to say hi, or for me to ask her the ingredients for her sugar cookie frosting recipe, we like to hear each other’s voice on the other end of the line.

I wanted to list a few things about my mom that might give you an idea of what kind of person, and mother, she is:

She has boundless energy. She never leaves a dirty dish in the sink for more than five minutes and I don’t think she’s ever left a load of laundry in the dryer for more than five minutes. Currently our sink is full of dirty dishes and the load of whites in the dryer has been restarted three times.

She is dedicated. She’s worked for the same company for more than 40 years. It’s changed names four times since she started, but she’s been a fixture.

She is handy. The woman painted my whole house and the bathroom twice. She helped Rob lay the flooring and packed up all my stuff from four dorm rooms/apartments in half the time it would’ve taken me.

She’s disciplined. Every morning she wakes up and walks two miles on the treadmill. She always orders a side salad instead of fries. She never goes a day without ice cream either. That’s discipline, people.

She sacrifices…constantly. Whether it be her time or talent, she’s always willing to drop everything to be there for me when I need her. This past week has been a prime example of that. More on that later.

She’s fun. All the kids love “Aunt Jan.” It might be because she has a mini playroom underneath the stairs in her house and likes to offer small children sugar, but regardless, she’s just a happy person. Adults like her too.

I could go on, but I’ll just sum this up by saying I am fully aware that I’m turning into her and I love it. I appreciate her parenting style so much more now that I’m a mom. I’m in awe of how she instilled the beliefs I hold today without hovering over me as a kid. She was born to be a mom. And if she ever decides to write a handbook on this whole parenting thing, I’m totally getting a signed copy…and hopefully a portion of the proceeds.

Happy Birthday, Mom!