mother's day

like sarah, i would like to tell you some things about my mom for mother's day. she doesn't read this, but, as we all know, this blog is for me.

this isn't a memory of mine, i've only been told about it. my brother and i are 18 months apart and when we were really young (i'm talking young here) my mom was still home with us. my dad would get home from work and we would want to tell him all about our day. i would tell him something and my dad would look at my mom who would translate. then scott would tell him something and my dad would look at my mom. my mom would look at me. i would translate and my dad was still lost so my mom would translate.

my dad always worked for the government so it was up to my mom, who worked locally, to be the one to get us from school if we were sick/broken and do whatever other parental duties were required. i think the best parental duty was to pick us up every wednesday and take us to mcdonalds for lunch. we were spoiled. when dad had to work late mom always made us grilled cheese sandwiches and let us eat in front of the tv.

i was also allowed to try all sorts of activities. like most girls my age, i was put in brownies and ballet. unlike most girls my age i hated these "girl" things and my mom was always very supportive when, instead of learning to sew and cook in brownies, i wanted to play dodgeball and go swimming in beavers. i quit ballet and started football. my mom always told me that there was nothing i could not do, especially those things that are typically "boy" things.

going back even farther, mom used to coach our tee-ball and 5-pitch teams. dad took over when we got older, but mom was there when we first started out. 22 years later i'm still playing (scott played until he left for university). also, mom was always the one who drove us to our ridiculously early practices. she also stayed with me all night in the hospital when i hurt my neck. more than once. and the one who helped me wash my hair when i sprained both my elbows in a nasty hockey hit.

somehow, my parents together, kept me and my brother extremely active and healthy. the kept us entertained and happy. the instilled good morals and values and let us make our own choices and decisions and mistakes. they saw us grow and fall and succeed and fail, but they saw us grow up. they still remain in our lives, as interested as ever.

and so for my mom, my brother and i painted our hands and put our colourful hand prints on a white tee shirt that read "World's Best Mom - Hands Down" and it made me think of being in preschool and painting with pudding, except with much less pudding eating. i also gave her a picture frame with some pictures of me and her and me and both my parents.