Mom's Day

I totally missed my mark yesterday in telling the world how wonderful my mom is. All day I was thinking about a blog that I could write and then the day came and went and I never wrote anything. My mom is in Sin City after all, celebrating Mother's Day her way... at the penny and nickle slots so I knew that even if I wrote something, she'd never read it. :) But that's alright - maybe she'll catch up with my blog when she gets back. If not, at least you all will know how special she is.

My mom is my best friend. Cliche to say the least, but besides my husband, she knows me the best. I probably wasn't the world's number 1 child growing up. Sure my sister and I were angels compared to some kids, but I know my mom put up with a lot of whining, talking back and the infamous Colleen "Nooooowah". She worked hard to give me and Kristen the world on a platter. She never missed a beat when it came to soccer games, traveling teams, basketball games, all day dance recitals (which we all know where her favorite), school functions, show choir concerts, awards ceremonies, etc. Even through college, she and dad never missed an event. I went through a period when I was less than stellar as a young lady - you know... the time when I had a new found freedom that no one in the world could take away (um yeah... my freshman year of college!). I did things that I know she probably wasn't very proud of, yet she let me live my life, learn my lessons and was always there to lend a hand, shoulder or smile. When I left for the Netherlands, I literally thought that I would never see them again (4 months across the world was a long time when I was never further than 15 minutes from my mom at any given time), yet she and I probably got closer in those 4 months than any mom and daughter. She wrote me daily (saving all my old emails for God only knows what reason), called 2 or 3 times a week, even sent me the best care packages ever (who cares that it took 5+ weeks to get to me because of 9/11 and that the bagels were green when I opened the box).

When I graduated college, I know that she was proud of me for the woman I had become, taking on a job and responsibilities of a grown up. I had bills to pay, meetings to get to, long days at a job that I hated, but we worked 2 minutes from each other and I loved our lunches together. When I met and married Tom, I never in my wildest dreams imagined my mom would love someone like their own child the way she loves Tom. She literally lights up when she sees him and I know that she couldn't have hand picked a better partner for me. Through the last 6 years, she's been Tom and my biggest fan (besides my dad and they fight for that role daily). She's been at my half marathons, my marathons, my sprint tri's through my Ironman. She ALWAYS makes the best signs and cheers and cries every time I cross the finish line, no matter how many races I've done of that distance prior. I still talk to her daily, sometimes more than once a day, usually about nothing important. When I'm with her, I feel comforted by her support, her love and most importantly, her friendship.

As I get older, I see a lot of myself in my mom. Someday I hope to be half the mom that she is to me. I hope that I have the love that she's always shown me, the courage to let my children make their own mistakes the way she did me, the support that they need if times are tough and the friendship that above all else is priceless.

So mom, you may be in Vegas, playing Wheel of Fortune and forgetting your troubles back here in Columbus, but Tom and I love you very much and hope that every day you know how much you mean to us!

xoxo