Me Mere

Since it's mother's day in all, I have to give a special shout out to my mom, Janet. She is the best and has worked her hardest for the past 28 years to provide a loving, happy foundation for my brothers and I. As a single mom for most of my upbringing, my mom worked hard to provide for my brother and I, often referring to us as The Three Musketeers through those trying times. Now that our family has grown she is the glue that keeps us all together.

In her honor I'd like to share eight things I love most about my mom (since it is May 8th and all...)

1. I don't know when my family decided to do this, but since my nickname is spelled S-A-M-I, both my mom and grandmother made the executive decision to change the spelling of their "names" to M-O-M-I and G-R-A-M-I so we could all have a special common name bond.

2. My mom supports me in most everything I do, but most recently I have really appreciated the support she has offered me in my journey to the Peace Corps. You see, when I applied for the first time about three years ago it was a tough subject...even though it was an easy decision for me it was harder for my family to swallow. But this time around my mom is really excited for this opportunity for me. I'm so lucky to have a mother who so fully embraces my dreams and is so open to helping through all the ups and downs that come with them.

3. As kids, my older brother and I both hated one type of food--for me it was stuffing (bllleehhh!) and for him it was mashed potatoes. But for some reason my mom could NEVER get it right. And for some reason I totally treasure that my mom, although she doesn't always get it perfect, she tries really hard to remember all the things that we do and don't like. I think I've been through a million and one phases of things I won't eat...american cheese, meat, mushrooms....now I'm pretty open to anything which makes mother happy :)

4.If there was anything I cherish most about the things that I inherited from my mother (matched for #6 and #7), it is her innate creativity which has been passed down through our family. My grandmother was a china-painter, florist, and an avid crafter; my grandfather a woodworker, builder, and all around do-it-yourself-er; and my mom a creative expert with her wine making, t-shirt printing, model clay shape making, and painting. Although sometimes I tease her for taking a completely fine t-shirt and embellishing it with the latest stencil, I admire her ability to be creative and am so glad I inherited it as well.

5. My mom is so open to talking about ANYTHING. Our talks are sometimes the best therapy and couldn't be substituted for late night conversations with anyone else. There is something about the bond you have with your mother and their ability to make you feel important again when you've reached the lowest of lows, or their ability to make you laugh at yourself when you've really done something stupid, or just make you feel better when you didn't do something as well as you thought you would. My mom totally puts the icing on the cake for this one.

5.5 Speaking of cakes---my mom made the BEST cakes for us when we were growing up. Ummm soccer ball cakes, dolphin cakes, I'm drawing a blank on some of the others but....I promise you, they were awesome!

6. In the age of helicopter parents, my mom taught

me the value of being independent. What an invaluable thing to learn growing up. I see parents these days who do the craziest things for their child like call the ACE office and tell us how we brought a comedian who was offensive and we were polluting the minds of our students--ummmm aren't all comedians mildly offensive and isn't your child old enough to decide that for him/herself and isn't there a little thing called audience responsibility...really lady (of course I didn't say that to the women, but COME ON!!), but I am fortunate to have been taught to take responsibility for myself. If I want to go to school--figure it out. If I want to open a bank account--figure it out. If I want to run away to a far away country--my mom would have a stern look at me, right between the eyes, and say "Sami, you better figure this one out, cause I'm not coming to Timbuktu to save you." So thanks mom!!

7. Ever since I was just a wee one my mom has worked with animals. She and my stepdad make their living training and breeding dogs (insert shameless plug for Weller Kennels here). But my mom's love for animals extends way beyond that. The things my mom looks forward to in spring is the return of wildlife to their property including swans, geese, and baby chicks. As kids we had a pretty spectacular fishtank and many different varieties of frogs, at one point we had a hampster, and probably at any given point between 4-9 dogs running around the house, oh yeah, and a few cats in there too. Anyways, my mom loves animals, and I love that about her. And if you ever need something to brighten your day, check this part of their website out for the cute puppies they have running around.

8. And last but not least - at least for this list because I'm pretty sure I could probably go on forever - my mom totally invented the 24 hour Dunkin Donuts rule. The premise is if you don't eat your share of the Dunkin Donuts box within 24 hours, they are TOTALLY up for grabs. She is genius, I swear, and probably mitigated thousands of fights between my brother and I over donuts.

Hope you enjoy. Love your mother...even if this is what your family gathering photo shoots end up looking like :)