Special Note

Been a while since I've posted, not really sure why. I've got the time, and I've got the inspiration of things to write about, I just never seem to get on it enough to actually write them down.
I was reminded this morning as I was woken up WAY too early that it is, in fact mother's day, which is a good thing, because without reminders, I would remember nothing more than Birthdays, Halloween, Christmas, Thanksgiving and 4th of July. Yeah, that's right - I don't know when easter is (but I know St. Patrick's day because it is my aunt's birthday - cheating, I know).
SO! Thanks to my friend who keeps track of these things, I actually know what day it is today! So I'm gonna start writing and then when I come to the end, I will stop.

So I have this Mother. Her name is Rachel. She gave birth to me, which I suppose is self-explanatory given the mother status. But I figured it was worth mentioning. I figured this because it was the beginning of my life. And from that moment (and quite conceivably before hand) on, she loved me. When you think about it, that in itself is impressive. Birth - love - 20 years - still love. All "maternal instincts" and "that's just the way it is" aside, think about it - that is way cool. I gave my mother hell sometimes, and she still loves me. That is some intense love - people. That is love worth celebrating. But I am not just celebrating the love, I am celebrating the woman. I am celebrating the woman who taught me how to talk to people, how to listen and respond to solve problems. I am celebrating the woman who, through her own example, taught me to be clever when in an argument (not a fight). I am celebrating the woman who would rearrange her schedule just to have lunch with me one day, for no other reason than that she wanted to have lunch with me. This is the same woman who took me to movies, read all seven Harry Potter books out loud to/with me (the further along we got, the more reading I did) along with many others, and would dance around with me to music when I was a wee lad. I still remember that dancing, and I still remember the songs that she would play for me when I went to sleep. I remember the songs she used to sing for me - though I cannot remember the words, words which I will have to learn one day when I have children - and how when she was singing to me, nothing bad was happening. I remember she was an expert artist mimic, to the point where she drew sesame street characters on my wall, and if I didn't know better, I would have thought they were done with a stencil. I remember she had a hard time with Tinkerbell - she had an egg-head and we couldn't get rid of it.
I remember when my mom was dating guys after her and my father and her were divorced the second time. I remember thinking to myself that this was gonna be like everyone elses experience - the mother would meet some guy and he would come up to me and go "we are gonna be great friends" but he would try to control me and make me help his relationship out. But that isn't what happened. When my mom had seen a guy a few times, she introduced him to me. Then she asked my opinion. And what I had to say mattered. There was this guy, I call him Robert². I did not like this guy. I couldn't quite put my finger on it, but this guy creeped me the hell out. My mom listened to me, and started to pick up on it too, and soon after, Robert² was gone. Seriously, how many parents actually listen to their kids when it comes to relationship advice?

I have learned so much from my mom, and have so many amazing memories, and though we have had our rough patches (which taught me things too) I would not trade her for any other mother. And if she wasn't awesome enough - she is coming up to my neck of the woods to dress like a faerie and dance around for 3 days this summer. Jealous? Yeah, you should be - cuz my mom is awesome.

Happy Mother's Day mamadog, I love you.