Moms Rule The World

In honor of Mother’s Day — yet another “holiday” that should be acknowledged and celebrated daily — today’s post is all about my wonderful mother, Lori.

I’ve always felt like one of those lucky girls — one of the girls who gets to say her mom is her best friend.

(Don’t worry, Becky, you’re still my real best friend. This is different. You understand.)

My mom and I had a great relationship when I was growing up. Maybe that’s because we spent hours together, driving to and from dance classes and competitions.

She claims I was a “good kid” and that I didn’t give her too much trouble — that came later, when I was in college (sorry, Mom).

My mom never missed a parent-teacher conference.

She never missed a dance recital.

She never missed a single performance at my many dance competitions — including the 7 am performances and the 11 pm ones.

She was there for every honor society induction (I’m a nerd), college visit and graduation.

She cheered me on when I won the school spelling bee in sixth grade — and she consoled me when I cried for hours after being the first contestant eliminated at the state level (I still hold a grudge about that, by the way).

My mom and I could spend hours together outlet shopping, gossiping and eating Dairy Queen blizzards (chocolate ice cream with peanut butter cups, always).

I could go on and on about all the reasons my mom is the best mom in the world (sorry, other moms). But since you all know how much I like lists, I’ll make it easy…

10 Things To Know About My Mom:

1. If there’s a sale, she’ll find it. (And she probably already has a coupon for what she’s buying, too.) Seriously, this women knows how to find a deal. The white button-down shirt I wear constantly and am obsessed with? She found it for me at a J.Crew outlet — for $7.

2. She doesn’t know the words to any songs, ever. She thinks she does, though. This makes the 45-minute drive to the outlets especially fun, since she tries to sing along to whatever is on the radio, and she thinks she’s doing great, but really, she’s making up all the words. I just shake my head, because I know that the lyrics are not actually “We gon’ bright and shop like it’s dynamite.” She’s lucky she’s so cute.

3. She’s got killer dance moves. And she’s usually the first person on the dance floor at any wedding. (She’s especially good at the Electric Slide, which I refuse to partake in.)

4. She loves Zumba. That explains the dance moves.

5. She’s really small. Stop trying to say you’re 5’3″, Mom — you’re tinier than that.

6. She’s just in love with my dad today as she was 20 years ago. They’re high school sweethearts, and every time he tells a dumb joke (sorry, Dad) and she laughs, it restores my faith that true love exists.

7. She runs! She’ll never admit that she’s “a runner,” but she rocked the Turkey Trot 5K we did as a family back in November, and she did so in a pilgrim costume.

8. She’s an instructional assistant. My mom has been working at the elementary school I attended for something like 15 years now. She works one-on-one with special needs students, which I think is one of the most admirable things a person can do with his or her life. She gives the kids she works with the same love, devotion and careful attention that she’s given me for the past 26 years, and I admire her so much for what she does every day. Her job is something I could never do (I don’t have the patience) and it amazes me every single time she talks to me about her day at school.

9. She’s incredibly thoughtful. My college roommates loved that every time Christmas, Easter and Halloween rolled around it meant getting individual goody baskets filled with delicious treats and light-up shot glasses. She didn’t just send stuff to me — she sent them to all the important people in my life. She’s good like that.

10. She was born to be a mom. She always has the right answer. If I’m sick, she tells me exactly what to take. If I need to buy a present for someone, she always has a great idea. If I’m not sure if the meat I bought four months ago is still good, she knows that the answer is ‘NO!” She is the kindest, most wonderful woman I know, and I am so lucky to have her.

That completes the list, but you should also know that she’s allergic to animals with fur (which explains why we had fish growing up, not something more cuddly), she has really good handwriting, she was a total goody two shoes growing up (neither of us are keen on rule breaking) and she throws a killer theme party. Plus, she’s never colored her hair (so neither have I) and she doesn’t have a single gray strand in the bunch.

No offense, Dad, but I really hope I got Mom’s genes on that one…

She also hates having her photo taken, so I’m sure she’s just going to love this post.

So to my mom and to all of the moms out there: Thank you for all that you do. You make the world a better place.

And no, Mom, I’m not giving you grandbabies this year. But you probably figured that out by now. Sorry.