Happy Mother's Day: A Day Late!

To all the Mommies out there -- Happy Mother's Day and an especially big "Happy Mother's Day" to my own Mom, whom I adore!

I hope everyone had a great day yesterday and were able to relax and enjoy some time with those who they love.  I have said it before, but family is what you make of it.  And you don't need to be a biological mom or celebrate your own biological mom... but hopefully you made time to say thank you and celebrate the people who are a "mom" to you.  The people who take care of you, love you unconditionally, support you, encourage you, embarrass you, frustrate you, you frustrate back, and you love each other through it all.

Yesterday I started the day by attending spin class with my mom.  My mom has been an athlete and avid exerciser her whole life.  It is great to be able to share things with her on the "fitness" front and for the past couple years whenever I am home, I've been attending spin classes with her.  She has become a regular at the spin class and I often have old classmates or coworkers from when I grew up tell me that they love seeing my mom at spin class!

After getting a great (mostly pain free for me!) workout in, we showered and headed over to my mom's brother's house for a Mother's Day BBQ!  We ate some delicious chicken kebabs, grilled vegetables, bread and pasta salad.  Followed by a delicious spread of desserts made up of cupcakes and brownies!

It was a lot of fun to hang out with my brother, cousins, aunt and uncle, and grandparents and spend some time outside.  My family is always laughing and cracking jokes at one another and today was no exception.  We seriously are a ridiculous bunch if you hadn't figured it out from our music videos yet!

After we ate we gathered around the TV to watch some family slide shows of my mom and her siblings when they were younger.  As a Christmas gift for my grandparents we digitized all of their old slides and photos!  We're slowly trying to get my grandparents into digital technology... last year we got them an iPad which they use mainly to keep up with us all through Facebook (hi Grampy!)  We all got a good laugh though because just a few minutes into watching the slides my mom and I realized that all of the men in the room had fallen asleep!  On Mother's Day!

Go figure.

Anyways, I wanted to use the Mother's Day theme from the weekend to write a short little tribute to my mom and share a few pictures.  When I was home over the weekend I sorted through some old photo albums looking for some good pictures of my mom, siblings and I from when we were little.  It was tough to find a picture of my mom in the camera at first because frankly, she is usually taking the pics and/or hiding from them.

This picture of my mom holding me makes me laugh because I can totally picture her saying, "No!  Not with me in it!" and turning to get herself out of the picture.

My mom stayed home with us while I was growing up and made my childhood so much fun.  She wasn't a sideline mom.  Literally and figuratively.  She has always been incredibly active... playing in an adult soccer league, participating in an alumni basketball game at her college, running daily, completing road races -- including a marathon my senior year of high school!

She also was never on the sidelines with us kids either.  She was always right in the action.  One of the things I am proud to have inherited from my mom is her fun, young spirit.  Even though I am young myself, I hope to keep that with me throughout my life as I get older and start a family.  She was always coming up with crazy games, events, and activities for us.  I could list them on and on here... Friday prize, "Whatever You Want Day," basketball and four square tournaments, helping us set up lemonade stands, unique Halloween costumes, themed birthday parties, Dinosaurs, etc.  So many ridiculous and fun memories from my childhood came from my mom's creativity.

One of my favorites was the carnival themed birthday party I had.  There were so many fun and unique elements to this party... and all before the days of Pinterest.  Can you imagine that? Here my mom is, right in on the action along with my friends and I.

Aside from having fun, my mom also helped us to learn and grow.  I love this picture of my mom reading to my siblings and I.

Or this one of her doing a puzzle with my brother.

She was always looking out for us and keeping us safe.  I love her watching over me as I goof off,  pregnant with my brother, in this picture.

Simply put, my mom was the best.

And still is!  So, I wanted to say, once more, a quick Happy Mother's Day!  And a quick thank you to my mom.

Thank you for always being thoughtful.  Thank you for pushing me, motivating me, and inspiring me.  Thank you for helping me learn the joy of running.  Thank you for putting up with my complaints that I don't get enough attention.  Thank you for teaching me to write thank you notes.  For always responding right away to my text messages and phone calls.  Even though it sometimes takes me days to respond to yours.  And then when I do respond, it's just something random like, "Mom, my knee hurts. What should I do?"

Thank you for putting up with my teasing.  I know I do it a lot.  But it's not my fault, you make it so easy and fun!  (I'm sorry) Thank you for taking care of yourself being healthy. Thank you for being kind and giving in everything you do.  Thank you for teaching me how fun it is to make homemade goodies to give to others.  Thank you for protecting me.  For always trying to do what's best for me.  Thank you for cuddling with me, even when you don't want to.  For supporting my quest to get healthier -- even when I lash out at you sometimes when you're just trying to help.

Thank you for being so cute and tiny that I can pick you up and spin you around.  Thank you for being brave and exploring new things, even if they scare you.  Thank you for being fun.  For being someone I want to hang out with and someone I enjoy sitting at a bar and having a drink with.  Or sitting at home and watching TV and making up stupid games like the ball balancing game with.  Thank you for not judging me.  Thank you for making me who I am.  I see myself becoming more and more like you every day-- it's both horrifying and awesome.  And mostly, thank you for being my friend.  Someone I trust, I have fun with, and who I know I can always count on.  I love you Mom!

I also want to say thank you and Happy Mother's Day to my loving and caring grandmother's.  Who have both been incredibly influential and important role models to me.  Right below is my mom's mom, my Grammy, with me.  My Grammy is still as energetic, sweet, and loving as always.  She is so fun to be around and keeps everyone in our family young!

And one of my mom and Grammy from Mother's Day.  Isn't she a cutie?

And here is a photo of my dad's mom, my Nana, with my sister and I.  My Nana passed away in 2007 but she was more influential to me than she will ever know.  And I'm lucky enough to have had many years with her, although they weren't enough.  She has given me more gifts and lessons than she, or my father, probably realize, and I think of her every day as I have her paintings hanging throughout my apartment.  One of which I am looking at right now as I type this.  I love you and miss you Nana!

I am so thankful to have had so many amazing influences in my life, and many strong, caring women to look up to.  Happy Mother's Day to my mom, grandmother's, and all the other "moms" in my life.  It takes a village, and I love you all!

Me and my mom.  Then and Now.