For Mom

Today would have been my mom's 79th birthday. She died 13 years ago when I was pregnant with S. My mom wasn't like all the other moms. She didn't sew, she didn't decorate, she didn't wear makeup. She worked a full time job my whole childhood. What she did do was teach me to throw a softball, hit a lay up and stand up for myself. She was a tomboy in the '30's when that was not a good thing. She and dad were married 14 years before I was born. It was the '60's when no one knew why some people just didn't conceive. Who knows why she suddenly got pregnant with me or my brother two years later and that was it. She was 35 when I was born, practically ancient back then. She always made me feel like I was a long awaited present and not some horrible suprise foisted on her. She knew how to not offer her advice unless asked and mop up the pieces when her advice would have helped me avoid a screw up. I still miss her.