Happy Birthday, Mom!

Right off the bat, let me state that I will draw no attention whatsoever to the year of your birth.  This is a celebration of you, not a number.  And now I'm going to go all extra-mushy on you.

Oh yeah, today is my mom's birthday, so I'm giving her a shout-out.  She's put up with me for all these years and deserves it.

Mom, you probably won't see this until the weekend blog catch-up reading, but just know that it's going up on your b-day.  Kinda like how I told you what was in your birthday package that USPS is holding hostage so you would actually know on your birthday.  It's one of those things.

I love you, Mom, because:

• after a crazy day at work, you put that Jeep into four-wheel drive and plowed your way through all that New Mexico snow to rescue Amanda and I from the electricity-less after-school center.
• you helped (helped?  I'm sure you did all the hard work!) sissy and I bake an absurd amount of cookies for a school event that never came due to the aforementioned crazy snow.
• you taught me how to sew and didn't make too much fun of me for the crooked blue-jean quilt.
• you always encouraged me to do my best.  My best in anything, no matter what it was, and thank you for faithfully attending those choir concerts.
• care packages always help, whether I'm 18 or 28, and you know that.
• the hug you gave me the day you dropped me off for my freshman year of college told me exactly how much you love me.
• no matter how many recipes I flip through or cookbooks I buy, your pie crust is the one I'll love.

Ok, there's more, tons more, but that's all I'm going to do for now.  I'm feeling very Hallmark and also a touch sleepy.

I love you, Mom, and I hope you had a fantastic birthday day!  See you in two weeks for Turkey Day!