Friday Five-Best Memories of Mom

We are close in age, so we kinda grew up together. She had me at 17.

1. My mom was always the prettiest of all the other kids moms. I remember always being like, yeah...that's my mom. She still is the prettiest..

2. My mom taught me to be resourceful, so no matter how hard times seemed I always had a way out, a scheme, or art to sell.

3. My mom taught me to be strong. Some of my ex's call me a bitch, but I am proud of being able to stand up for myself and not take shit.

4. My mom was always cool as hell to hang out with. Many times we hung out at the Gay 90's in Minneapolis and went to an after hours club, ending the night at Mickey's Diner in St. Paul eating hash browns. My mom was always a dare devil. I'm not but I have lived vicariously through her. She followed Prince in a summer tour, she traveled to Iran in her 20's and during a real crisis...she didn't see Iran for how the media potrayed them, she saw the beauty of the country, culture, and people. She had a picnic in Paris, walked down the Champs-Elysees, interned at NBC, cooked for Tom Brokaw in our kitchen, taught me to make the best eggrolls, she came face to face with Prince on his lawn, she stole his ball! (For that game you play with balls on a lawn.) she moved more times than anyone can count, read hundreds of books and the most amazing of all, she had 7 of the smartest kids in the world.

5. Sitting on her deck, smoking a cigarette with her. This is the most simple time, but the most treasured. This is where everything and anything I write about that matters comes from. This is when we talk about life. I miss those times. We still talk on the phone...the other day I told her about my kids not being so close to me...she said "It breaks your heart to see them grow up, but they are their own person. All you can do is let them go and hope they make some smart choices." Damn, she is so smart. Happy Birthday to my mom Jeaneen.