20 to 30

Another appropriate post today as it is my mom's bday...appropriate that this year she shares her bday with Easter as she has more Christ-like love than I could ever imagine having. My mom truly is my best friend, my rock, my confidant. She has always been such a stable foundation in our family. There are so many days when she spends 3-4 hours on the phone because each of her kids make their rounds in phone calls to talk about everything going on in our lives. When i was young i remember her being in the house waiting for us to walk in the door from school and she'd always have a snack sitting on the counter. i loved having her there...it meant so much to have her there to greet us when we got home. as we started to get older and "went out" at night she would stay awake until we were all home and i have so many memories of sitting on her bedside as i would spill all the details of what i did that night...many of those talks would last until 2 or 3 in the morning but it never mattered how tired she was or how early she had to get up...she was there to listen. i think that explains why she still gets those contiuous phone calls from all of us even though we're all grown and have our own families...she's a listener. she has also become such an awesome grandma. she is so involved. she has 20 grandchildren (and counting...not by me) and they still get actual birthday gifts and christmas gifts even though half of them live on the other side of the country...i can't imagine how much money she spends on shipping alone. she goes out on everything for her grandchildren from the massive easter egg hunt we had yesterday to the annual halloween party and it's many activities and then to the annual gingerbread decorating...she puts all her heart and soul into everything to make all these special experiences for her grandchildren. she flew with me and my kids to georgia last week and as a mom, i of course had a bag full of snacks, movies, books, etc for them to do on the flight...as the time went on, however, they were quickly making their way through everything i had brought and gma just started pulling out new stuff that she had gone out and bought for them. i didn't ask her to do it...i didn't even know she had done it but there it was...and she just kept pulling stuff out. that's just normal grandma. i truly mean it when i ask her to please out live me because i can't imagine a world where i don't have her to talk to. she is the wife, mother and grandmother that i will continuously strive to become like. i love you mom.