My Mom - Michelle

My Mom and I - Spring 2010

Again, in honor of Mother's Day I want to dedicate posts to my Moms. This post is for my Mom Michelle. She came into my life when I was 6 yrs old. The first time I met her was in Washington state over the summer. My Dad was stationed at Ft. Lewis and my Mom was his fiancee at the time. My brothers and I flew out to Washington by ourselves (can you believe the airlines let two 6 yr olds and a 10 yr old fly alone back then?!) And as soon as we got to my Dad's house we were bombarded with gifts (bikes!) and dogs (the Yorkshire terriers that I grew up with). It was amazing. We spent a few weeks there with my Dad and Mom and we did more fun stuff in those few weeks than I had done my whole life. And my Mom was so loving and patient with us.  

My Mom with all 3 of us and one of the yorkies (TJ) and the Welcome Banner she made for us - circa 1988

Soon after that summer, about 4 months later, my Dad and Mom picked us up from Sally and took us to their wedding at Jackal Island, GA.

Me at my Dad and Mom's wedding circa 1988

When we moved in with my Mom we quickly learned a new way of life. My Mom instilled discipline and routine into our lives and we desperately needed it! She also exposed me to sports, baseball and swimming were the two that I tried and liked. And she and my Dad exposed us to rock n roll and I LOVED it! I learned all my dance moves from my Mom. She taught me how to shake my booty for real, and I still dance like her to this day. She also taught me my sense of responsibility and hard work. I remember being so proud of my Mom because she was a woman and she was a soldier. She showed me by example that a woman really can do anything a man can do.

My Mom also exposed me to nature. She took me hiking, camping, and fishing, I had never done those things before. I fell in love with nature because of my Mom. I became quite the tomboy/nature girl as a child because of her. I used to go creek stomping in water up to my neck and I would return home after hours of playing in the woods covered in dirt and leaves. My mom never gave up on me when it came to school work, I remember her sitting with me for what must have been hours trying to help me understand Math. My Mom was always big on me having my own space, my own bedroom. When I lived with Sally I shared a room with Stan, when I moved in with my Mom I got my own bedroom, we all did. She was very big on all of us having our privacy and space.

My Mom and I - circa 1992 to 1994

As a tween my Mom took me to get my hair permed, I will never forget that. It looked great and she did my hair for me almost everyday throughout my middle school years. She always knew how to do really cool makeup for herself and I remember for Halloween one year she did my makeup and it looked amazing, I couldn't believe how talented she was. I still can't do makeup as well as her, not even close. She was always very open with me as well. She never hesitated to talk to me about anything I wanted to talk about, including the birds and the bees. I remember her frank conversations with me about how my body was changing and about boys. She never judged me or made me feel bad about my body, she was very positive about her body image and mine.

I am A LOT like my Mom. Especially as a parent. I am big on both girls having their own space and I am big on having my own space as well. I am very big on routine and clear expectations and discipline. I am also big on both my girls having positive body images and no fear about talking about their bodies or questions about their bodies. I still love to dance and we often have dance parties and listen to music just like I did with my Mom as a kid.

My Mom and I have also had an up and down relationship throughout the years. But I really believe that the downs of our relationship are behind us now. In the last couple of years she and I have come to a place of seeing each other more clearly and understanding each others expectations. I love my Mom because she is always willing to listen to me. She always tries to give me everything she thinks I want. She is just a very giving person. There isn't anything she wouldn't give me if I asked her for it. It's amazing. I try not to take advantage of it, ever, but knowing that she is there and that I can ask her for any kind of support (emotional, physical, etc) and she will give it if she humanly can is a huge comfort to me. She is an amazing woman and a great Mom.