Top 10 Reasons Why I Love My Mom

10. She is one of the few people who has been willing to help me move, many times. Whether it was to move to college (about 5 or so different times), or across the country to Houston to teach- she has been there in the thick of things. Especially when it means that she is running circles around the moving man, she is Super Woman. And even surviving the night at our "fancy" $30/night motel- where she was insistent about looking through our luggage for night clothes in the dark 3am parking lot.

9. She seems to enjoy our daily chats, even when the time change makes my morning phone calls her wake up calls at 6:45 am. In fact, many times she is the one who is more awake and ready to start the day than I am to teach my 4th grade kiddos. This call is something that I look forward to every morning.

8. Has a crazy wicked sense of humor and is always willing to laugh. I do believe she is one of the few people that I know who has more than once been accused (i.e. pulled over) of being drunk. Instead she had to convince those people that she was in fact NOT drunk, but instead was just laughing. Albeit laughing hard enough that she was swerving between lanes on the freeway and stumbling around 7-11's looking for a treat. Oh- and the random bouts of giggling, when asked why are you laughing...her response "I was thinking about something from The Office last night." ...or requesting a picture of the cockroach I found interloping under my front door and into my Houston apartment.

7. She has always supported me- Rain City Volleyball Team, school sports, typing school assignments late into the night, playing hookey from school together, keeping Snicket's personality alive to banter with Ronald's, helping me decorate new apartments and classrooms, and keeping my spirits up when dealing with my teaching soul in Texas.

6. Spending spring break, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and summer holidays with me. Coming to visit me in Houston and traveling to New Orleans together (surviving exiting off the wrong exit in downtown New Orleans). Willing to celebrate a picnic Thanksgiving in 75 degree weather with me and my Dad.

5. Our shared Hobby Lobby and LOST obsession. Enough said.

4. Loves spending time with those she cares about (or wrangling the team): my Dad, my Sister, her close friends, Snickets, Weebo, and me.

3. She is an amazing gift giver. Knows what I need even before I do sometimes. Like a two month food supply. Who knew how great *giggle* my food supply would look and work as a side table in my living room?

2. Going to see the movie Dick and Jane, taking a gulp of soda, laughing and almost immediately having said soda come shooting out of her mouth and nose.

1. I couldn't imagine life without her. Not many people care about the people around them as much as she does.