5 things my mother has taught me

In honor of Mother's Day I wanted to write up a quick list to honor my own mother. My mom is pretty much the best thing ever. She is smart, well-rounded, goofy, and vivacious. She taught me everything I know. I inherited her love for cooking (sarcasm) and her demanding personality (not sarcasm). She's my best friend and the coolest cat out there.

I hope that when I have the privilege to be a mother, that I can replicate my mom. Her hard work, courageous personality, open mind, sense of adventure, and love for life are some of her most amazing qualities, and qualities that I look forward to bringing to my own family.

1. Laugh all of the time - especially when it's inappropriate. If you know my mom then you know her infamous laugh. It is loud and beautiful and can be heard from a mile a way. And though most people might be embarrassed by it, she owns it, and that is great. That taught me to not hide your laugh, and laugh when you think something is funny or make the best of each situation. Life is supposed to be funny so don't take anything too seriously - especially yourself, especially your laugh.

2. Be a hard worker. You can wish and you can want, but eventually your good privilege will run out and you will have to work for your desires. But it isn't even working for material things, but the lessons learned while working. Hard work, putting your best and full effort forward, that can really teach you and leave with you with the wonderful feeling of self satisfaction.

3. Be yourself. As all children and awkward tweens, I struggled with liking myself and having confidence. And when I hated things about me, my mom loved them. She made it very clear that she loved me and that my flaws were not flaws - flaws don't exist. There is nothing wrong with being yourself and looking the way you do. Be crazy is engrained in our DNA, and there is no one better to lead the crazy train than my mom, and I have seen my mom love her quirkiness and embrace it to its fullest.

4. Dream big and don't give up. My mom, at 50, is going back to school, working, and still is there for my siblings and I, always. She doesn't let anyone or anything hold her back and when she sets her mind to a task, there is no force to stop her from achieving that goal. She turns imagination into reality and uses her creativity like no one else.

5. Love everyone. My mom loves every person - no matter how "not normal" they are. In fact, my mom goes out of her way to make the people without friends to know that she is there for them and cares for them. She accepts every person, admires every person, and sees them in ways I wish I could. Her love is enormous.

There are about ten million other things I could write - my mom is the definition of fabulous. She is a leopard loving, chocolate consuming, writer/builder/singer/traveler/imaginateer/really really cool person. Being a mom is very hard and somehow she still loves all five of us. She's da best.