Challenge Day 2

Today's challenge is to post a picture of myself with the person I have been closest to the longest.  This was easy for me--I knew right away who that person would be.  The person who has known me for 32 years, raised me, and put up with me!  That person is my mother.

This is one of my favorite pictures of my mom and me.  This picture, obviously, was taken on my wedding day.  My mom and I had a lot of fun that day.  We made a lot of jokes and enjoyed spending the day at the church with our friends and family.  We showed up early and all got ready together. I remember my brother made a lunch run for us--burgers and fries.  I was so hungry and looking forward to my burger and fries, but never had time to eat more than a couple of fries, which for some reason struck me as being funny.  Then, when I did have time to eat I couldn't find my burger.  One of my friends said, "Oh, I'm sorry, I thought you were done--I threw it away." I stood there trying to process that--I hadn't taken even one bite out of the burger so why would I be finished with it.  My mom rolled her eyes and said, "Oh brother!" and started laughing--then we all started laughing.  It was so funny!

My mother and I are two very different people.  We like different things and we act differently--and sometimes our personalities clash.  We can drive each other completely crazy--but the great thing about our relationship is that we have a lot of fun together too. We can go shopping and just hang out and we always have a good time--especially now that I'm older! (LOL) When I was little my mom was there to fix my hair, to take care of me when I was ill, she helped me with my homework, she did all of those little things that mothers do every day.  I think the thing that stands out to me the most is that she put up with me. I was NOT an easy teenager to live with and she never threw her hands up and said, "That's it! I'm done." 

Do you remember the scene in A Christmas Story when Ralphie has a fight?  Ralphie thought his father was going to kill him when he found out about it.  His mom didn't keep it from his father but she told him in such a way that it didn't seem like a big deal--and life went on.  THIS was our house.  My brother and I would do something--something we knew we shouldn't have done--and we knew when our dad found out we were going to be in a lot of trouble.  So, like any sane child would do, we would go to mom first.  Let's be honest, if you're going to get a spanking you want your mom to do it, not your dad, right?  Mom would tell my dad what happened but she would do it in such a way that it didn't seem to be a big deal.  If it was a big deal she would tell him when we weren't around and then talk to him and calm him down before we got there.  She was always our biggest ally and as I was growing up it never occurred to me to give her credit for that--or to thank her for all she did for me as infant, child, teenager, and even now as an adult.  

My mom had open heart surgery a little over a year ago and about a month after her surgery she ended up back in the hospital with an infection and had to have another surgery.  Through all of this I realized that not only is my mother stronger than I ever gave her credit for, but we are not promised tomorrow and our relationships with family are worth all the effort. 

So, here's to many more years of craziness with a woman I like to call "Mom."