Happy Mother's Day!

Today's not-so-silly list is 5 good memories with my Mom.

(in no particular order)

1. Our trip to England. For all the squabbles and near disasters, we had a blast! Some of the best memories of that trip are going to Bath & Stonhenge (on my birthday, no less), the look of delight on Mom's face when we finally found the British Museum, and the night we found a terrific Indian restaurant and got slightly tipsy.

2. The day we went to the pound and adopted Scotty-dog. Dad's birthday was coming up- Mom had seen a picture of the most adorable pup in the paper (featured pet of the week) and decided we were getting him a dog for his birthday. We got to the shelter and there were 2 pups left in the litter. We had decided on the black & white one- the girl working there tossed us a leash and said "go in and get him." We spent 15 minutes chasing those damn dogs around in the pen and Mom finally managed to grab the solid black one. "We'll take this one" she said, daring me to argue. Good choice. He lived with us for around 15 years, and while he was Daddy's dog in theory, he loved all of us and we all adored him.

3. Mom reading to me as a child. I wasn't much for being read to once I mastered reading for myself, but Mom read most of the Laura Ingalls Wilder "Little House" series to me. I believe I also remember her reading the Jungle Book and Rikki-Tikki-Tavi. Thanks to her, I'm still an avid reader!

4. Being in the odd position of being both the youngest child (5 siblings form my dad's first marriage) and an only child (they didn't live with us), I often didn't have anyone to play with. Mom spent hours playing card and board games with me. She tried to teach me how to be a gracious winner (I have finally stopped doing victory dances, but I still gloat. A LOT) and a good loser (I sulk, swear and am impossible to be in a room with until I finally get a win) and had a lot more patience than most adults would have.

5. Getting to do something just for her. Mom moved heaven and Earth to take me on my dream trip to England. I haven't been able to do anything quite on that scale for her. However, the touring production of the Color Purple came through Louisville a few years ago, right around Mother's Day. Knowing how much she loved the book, and that she wanted to see the show, I bought tickets, made a reservation for the special dinner being offered at the theatre restaurant and went with her so that my dad wouldn't have to. (not his kind of thing at all- I didn't expect to enjoy it and was VERY pleasantly surprised) We got to dress up, had a wonderful time, and I still smile when I remember the look of pleased shock on her face when I told her what her present was that year.