For Mom

This post is Part Five of a 5-day series this week in celebration of Mother's Day. 

At 32 years old, I can finally admit it: My mother was right about everything. 

Weirdos are in fact everywhere. Brushing your teeth when you're hungry will keep you from snacking. And money cannot buy taste. 

In the past few years I've learned something: it turns out that raising someone who thinks she knows everything--and certainly more than her mother--can be tough. And when I see my almost-six year old roll her eyes at her silly mommy I am haunted by my own sass. Really the fact that my mom did not spontaneously combust during my adolescence is a result of divine providence. 

But my how times have changed. These days I just hope to one day know the things my mom knows. Since launching from her nest at breakneck speed 14 years ago I have found myself sending back frequent SOSs. Making return trips to drop something off at her house, only to end up staying for a few hours because there is just always so much to say and to hear. 

These days when I'm standing at Lowe's choosing between chrome or nickel finishes for our bathroom, I call Mom. When trying to remember the chocolate chip pound cake recipe I've made a hundred times--that pesky sour cream measurement just won't stay in my head--I call Mom. When I'm wandering around Tuscaloosa looking at different houses and need to talk over the options, I call Mom. Choosing the girls' Easter dresses? Send her the links. Weighing the pros and cons of a child care option? Gigi will have great insight. 

And then there are the urgent moments when my fingers dial her number almost involuntarily. "Mom, I think Hallie broke her leg. Jason is out of town. Can you meet me at her school?" And she comes. With a stack of library books to entertain the patient, of course. 

My Mom is our family's chief event planner, house decorator, storyteller, project-finisher, wisdom giver, grandkid entertainer, gift buyer, game player...she is the brains behind the operation and the hands that hold it all together. 

If you ask my mom at any point what any of her three adult kids has planned for the next several days she can almost always tell you. And that's not because she's nosy or because she doesn't have quite a bit going on herself. She knows how we are doing most of the time for two reasons: because she cares and because we like to talk to her. 

So this Mother's Day I want to say thank you, Mom. Thank you for always answering when we call. Thank you for listening. Thank you for helping. Thank you for your sought-after advice. Thank you for loving us with your time. 

And I'm giving my mom the gift I hope to one day, at long last, receive: a proclamation once and for all that She Was Right. About all of it. 

I love you, Mom. Happy Mother's Day!