mother's day

this is one of my favorite pictures of me and my mom.  i am very little, but i have a big head.  and no hair.  that was par for the course for my first couple years of life.  this is the winter of 1982-83 and we're in the front yard of our house in mcgrady.

one of my favorite parts of this picture is what is written on the back:

i don't know whose handwriting this is...my grandpa george's?  my (great) aunt isabel's?  either way, i love it - i'm so new in the world that my name has been misspelled.  this entertains me.

anyways: back on track.

happy mother's day, mama!  my favorite things about my mama are too numerous to list, but i'll give you a couple of them:
1. she's always there when i need her - ALWAYS - from the mundane ("um, mom, i left a bag of groceries in the car for three hours when i got home.  can i still eat the yogurt?") to the important ("A DOG JUST BIT ME."), she is always the first person i call when i have a problem i can't solve.  i value this so much.  additionally, during the few times i have needed to, i can be ridiculous and cry on the phone and she will just pretend like it isn't happening and will do an excellent job of diverting me/making me feel better.  prime example: the newark airport (aka HELL), 2004.  i'd missed a connecting flight on the way up to exeter, new hampshire to interview for my first job and had to spend the night in newark (i did fine), but it was the next day and i'd missed my connecting flight on the way back home, too.  and i hated my life a lot.  and i cried into a pay phone and she let me.
2. she taught me how to cook.  she created two girls who love to cook and who are, i think, pretty good at it.  this is a lesson you can't buy anywhere and one that i think is so valuable.  cooking relaxes me, feeds me, brings people together, lets me care for others.  i can't understand people whose parents didn't teach them to cook.  i love that my mom did.
3. she is not scared of anything.  not dead things or the dark or being home alone.  she is tough.
4. she never puts herself first.  ever.  she always puts her family first, and her students, and her friends.  she is an incredible example of selflessness.  she rocks.

so happy mother's day to my mama (i love you!) and all the other mothers out there...