For Mom

I want to use this post as a shout-out to my awesome mom. Her birthday was on October 3, and although we couldn't celebrate together on her actual day, we will be getting together soon with my sister for a mother/daughters night of watching gymnastics - including Gabby Douglas and the other members of the 2012 Olympic team and Nastia Liukin! I can't wait!

This morning I was listening to some old-school TLC, back from when I was in 4th grade - that's right, Crazysexycool. Listening to these songs, I can now understand why my mom was less than thrilled that I knew all the words and loved to dance and "perform" to this album. Let's just say the lyrics are less than appropriate for a 4th grader. But, being in 4th grade, I had no idea what I was singing, and was blissfully ignorant and just loving the music, and also their style! My friends and I would sing the songs together, and I would always want to be Left-Eye, complete with her tattoos. My mom was awesome enough to draw one of the tattoos on my arm - the big "8" on my bicep, minus the eagle. (Of course I found out later in life that the 8 was really 80, but from the photos of her in the CD case, I couldn't see the whole tattoo - so I was happy with my sharpie-drawn 8.)

I distinctly remember her saying, "I can't believe I'm doing this, it's probably a gang sign!" But at my insistence, she helped me out, as usual. She has always been great at letting me express myself throughout my childhood and life - she might not always agree, but I think she understood the importance of being able to dress, dance, sing, perform... in order to express my overly-dramatic tendencies.

And thinking back, my performances with my sister and friends were probably pretty entertaining, regardless of how ridiculous they were. Or because of that. Either way, my mom always made me feel special and important, and most of all, loved. So here's to my great mom - I love you!