Oh, mother.

Have you ever met my mom? Not sure? Oh trust me, if you have, you'd know. There's no forgetting that little spitfire of a lady. So let me enlighten you, if you haven't had the privilege yet.

 

Just a few things she loves: the Gospel and the Savior, her family (me, especially), the Red Sox, starting sentences with "As you Americans say...", the pronunciation of any Spanish word or name that allows her to use an accent, calling my father a "Fuddy Duddy", Facebook, her Blackberry, using Facebook on her Blackberry, the color purple, cute shoes, making her delicious chicken enchiladas for my friends, taking multiple (and I mean MULTIPLE) pictures of us kids at every single family event and driving us crazy, and quite possibly more than anything else...her celebrity crush Matthew McConaughey.

A few things she hates: cats, "nasty dirty socks", Oprah, Dr. Phil, and Snoop Dogg. That's all I could come up with. But boy, does she ever emphasize how much she hates those things!

The reason for this post? One year ago today, my entire family was fasting together for her as we had found out a couple of days before that her doctor had found cancer in her breast. Even though it really was just a scare, and it was able to get taken care of quickly, I remember feeling so sad and lost when my dad called me that day. I even talked to her the next day and she was just fine, and I still felt scared and it was hard to get rid of the thought that she could be gone. I couldn't understand why she was so calm and I was having such a hard time with it.

Everything is fine and dandy now, but that experience really taught me not to take anything she does for granted. I'm so glad I have the relationship I do with her. It makes me happy to know that I can tell her absolutely anything and I don't have to worry about judgement. I love that we talk frequently on the phone, most of the time for hours, and that she worries when a few days have gone by without that communication. I think it's awesome how up to date she is with what's "cool". I love getting texts and Facebook notifications from her. And all of my friends love her! She really is the coolest mom. She is so funny. Ask anyone, I quite often will start laughing out of nowhere and say, "Oh, I'm just thinking about something funny my mom said." True story. I'm grateful for the example she's been to me my whole life. I hope everyone can have the same kind of relationship with their mom that I have with mine.

So, go tell your mom how much you love her. She will appreciate it.

I love you, Mom. Thanks for being the best ever!