My Mom is Better than Your Mom

(picture taken at my wedding, courtesy of my aunt cecily)

It's my mom's birthday.  I won't say which birthday. I prefer the approach of Houston socialite, Lynn Wyatt: "I don't count my birthdays, but I sure as heck celebrate them."

I'm down.

So. In celebration of my mom's birthday, I have compiled a list of the top 10 reasons my mom is better than your mom. (No offense. I know your mom is lovely, too.) (But mine is lovelier.)

Drum roll, please...

10- My mom has insane spatial-temporal reasoning abilities. Insane. Like, you should NEVER try to pack a box or organize a closet or fill a moving truck or even arrange your furniture without her.

9- She makes the best pies known to man. Seriously. If you've never had her cherry pie, you've never HAD cherry pie. For real.

8- My mom is 100% devoted to her family. She has been known to drive...alone...all over the country to help with moves or participate in major projects or simply to provide moral support.

7- She'll listen and listen and listen to anyone who needs to talk. And she has.

6- She is an extremely talented artist. She painted this. And somehow my little brother got his hot little hands on it before I even knew it existed, which I might be slightly bitter about still.

5- She can make anything line up perfectly. Lasagna noodles. Pictures she hangs on the wall. Doctrinal concepts. Stars...if necessary.

4- My mom is, hands down, THE best prayer—as in "one who prays." Her prayers have located lost diamonds, made important missing files appear out of thin air, and produced international visas nine days before they're needed to enter countries that don't even consider applications for visas within two weeks of the trip. Ever.

3- She taught me to read before I'd even started kindergarten because I wanted so badly to learn.  She took me through a lesson every day (two, if I was being particularly demanding) so I could read like my brothers.

2- She has always been an example of being true and faithful, and that example has been the most consistent guiding light of my life.

1- She's my best friend and has been since the day I was born. She's my favorite person to shop with, cook with, clean with, work with, and just plain hang out with. I value her opinion more than anyone else's and usually can't proceed with anything until I've obtained it. Which I'm sure she gets tired of, but if she does, she never lets on.

See? Best. Mom. Ever.

Happy birthday, Mom! Don't count it. Just celebrate it. Wish I could be there to celebrate with you.