Family,  Marriage Confessions

Happy Birthday, Mom!

September 10, 2009 /

This is my Mom.

She answers to the name of Patty.   Or Mom.   Or Mooooooom!!!!   Or Nana.

She wears many hats.

Today is her birthday.   She is 53 years old.   Now, I’ll probably get a phone call from her later yelling at me for putting her age out there for all to see.   But I’ll tell her then what I’ll tell you now – I don’t see what all the fuss is.

My mom is 53 years old.   I am 26 years old.   This means that my mom has known me for over half of her life.   And she’s not in jail for killing me yet.   I’d say that’s worthy of a big ol’ piece of cake.

See, my Mom is my best friend.   As I’ve gotten older, she’s become more of a sister to me.   We talk about everything and we talk A LOT.   Several times a day.   I call her every day when I get off of work and we talk my entire way home.   We talk about work, about the Bean, about what we’re having for dinner.   We gossip and plan my sister’s entire life out for her (sorry, Gin).   I tell her about my latest Target trip and she tells me about what piece of ceramics she’s working on.

She is in every way what a best friend is.

But the greatest thing about my relationship with my mom is that while we’ve become much closer as I’ve grown up, she still manages to be my MOM, too.   I call her when I don’t feel good.   Not because I expect her to do anything about it from 2,000 miles away, but because just talking to her makes me feel better.   I call her when I’ve had a fight with Chris and she tells me what no one else is brave enough to say, “Kitten, you’re acting like a baby.”   I call her when money is tight and I’m pouting because I can’t go shopping.   I call her when my car needs new tires.   When I’m trying to bake a cake.   When I struggle with my faith.   When I have a question about taxes.

I call her for everything.   She should have her own hotline.   1-800-I-Know-It-All.

I think that is my Mom’s greatest accomplishment.   She is a friend AND a mother to both her daughters.   And that’s a hard balance to find.

Since I’ve had Beanie, I’ve come to appreciate my mom even more (if that’s possible).   Like me, my mom worked when I was growing up.   But I don’t really remember that.   All I remember is that she was there.   All the time.   For everything.   And as a new working mom myself, I now truly understand how hard that must have been for her.   But I think it was the being there when I was young that gives me the confidence to know every time I pick up the phone that she’ll be there for me now.

I can only pray that one day Beanie has that same confidence in me.

Happy birthday, Mom.

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26 Comments

  • Tressa

    September 10, 2009 at 2:44 pm Reply

    Happy Birthday to an awesome mom! 🙂
    This post made me cry as well! Not everybody is BLESSED with a mom and best friend all wrapped into one. It’s amazing as we grow older and wiser ourselves just how wise our moms are!

  • Casey

    September 10, 2009 at 3:11 pm Reply

    This post made me well up a bit. My mom is also my best friend, but still my mom. I wouldn’t want it any other way. We live in the same town and I run my parent’s restaurant… and we definitely talk at least 3 times a day. She still drives me crazy sometimes though 😉 Happy Birthday to you Patty!

  • Camberley

    September 10, 2009 at 4:45 pm Reply

    I almost cried when I read this post, because I feel the exact same way about my mom. Me and Debs (my mother) text/call each other all day long. I’m lucky we live close to one another because we hang out at least 2-3 times a week. If we were 2,000 miles apart I think I’d have a nervous breakdown. I guess it’s time to cut the umbilical cord ;-).

    Thanks for the beautiful post!

    ~Camberley

  • Lisa

    September 10, 2009 at 5:13 pm Reply

    Beautiful post, brought tears to my eyes. My mother and I have the same kind of relationship and I really miss that when we’re apart. Even though there’s a 9 hour time difference between us, I appreciate our relationship even more when we are together. Happy birthday to your mom!!

  • Christina

    September 10, 2009 at 6:21 pm Reply

    What a wonderful tribute! Happy Birthday to a fabulous mom and friend!
    I know what it’s like to live far away from your mom…and what it’s like to be close anyway. What a blessing.

  • Hilary

    September 10, 2009 at 7:19 pm Reply

    Yay for moms! I’m also very close with my mother. I never fully appreciated how incredible she was until I had my baby. Thank God for mommas!

  • Zoe

    September 11, 2009 at 5:03 am Reply

    That’s really lovely. It made me sad though, because I don’t have anywhere near that good a relationship with my mum. She’s never been a friend of any kind. It makes me worry whether I’d be a good mum, because I don’t know what it’s like to have that relationship. I have no idea how one would even start to foster a relationship like that with their kids.

    • Deb

      September 11, 2009 at 8:27 am Reply

      Hi Zoe! I had this worry about getting married since my parents divorced when I was 3. I didn’t know what a happy and healthy marriage was like. But I read about 7 books on the topic. And I am in a very happy and healthy marriage now, it’s wonderful. So my advice is read books on the topic – you’ll probably find you can get the advice you need there! Good luck:)

  • Noelle

    September 11, 2009 at 8:37 am Reply

    This post made me tear up as well. I have the same relationship with my mom. I am an only child, and my mom and I have always been super close. After I graduated college though, I feel like my mom started to see me more as an independent woman, and our relationship really grew into that mom/friend relationship. Happy birthday to your wonderful mom!

  • Katie's Mom

    September 11, 2009 at 8:42 am Reply

    Oh, Kitten! I had my birthday all over again this morning when I read your lovely tribute. Dad and I were in airports most of the day yesterday trying to get to you so I wasn’t able to read this until this morning. Its taken a while for me to pull myself together before I commented. I want you to know that if I never accomplished anything in my life other than being your and Gin’s mom, I would still be the most blessed woman in the world. I look at the two of you and marvel at how both of you have become such incredible, caring and loving people. You bless me every single day. I wished we lived closer, but when all is said and done, you have to live your own life and there’s no where in this world that you or Gin can go that I can’t get to you. So thank you for this wonderful present.

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