Friday I'm in Love: My Mom Is A Badass

My mom turns 75 today! Happy birthday, Mom! 

You'll notice that the title of this post is, "My Mom Is A Badass", rather than something like "Happy 75th Birthday, Mom!". My original birthday post idea - for 75 is definitely a post-worthy landmark birthday - was to write 75 great things about my mom.

Which I could totally do, except that I also have to do things like sleep. So then I though I'd just pick one great thing per decade, so that it would be more like 7.5 great things about my mom. And in thinking about it that way, I realized that my mom is a total badass.

7.5 Great Things About My Mom, Or Why My Mom Is A Total Badass

1. One of my mom's earliest memories is celebrating V-E day (that's Victory in Europe Day, for those of you who aren't WWII history nerds).

2. In high school, my mom managed to be a cheerleader AND in the band AND a straight-A student. I think they invented the word "overachiever" just to describe her.

3. After college, my mom became a reporter. In addition to covering news, she also learned to swear like a sailor and drink copious amounts of gin - all stuff she can still do today.

4. My mom was the first woman general news editor of United Press International.

5. People I went to elementary school with still remember my mom as "The Picture Lady" (she came in every so often to teach us about art history) and/or "The Newspaper Lady" (she ran a newspaper with the 6th graders).

6. My mom quit smoking after doing it for something like 40 years.

7. My mom slept on a crappy cot in the dining room of our first house for three weeks after Ironflower was born (cooking and cleaning non-stop), so Hot Guy and I could adjust to parenthood. She did the same thing after Lovebug was born, though that time she actually got a bed in a bedroom.

7.5 My mom had major abdominal surgery in November, somewhat less major abdominal surgery again in January. . . .and she's already back in dance class.

Wandering Wednesday: New Digs

Not everyone likes posing on my command. 

My mom managed to host Christmas dinner at her old house and New Year's dinner at her new one. Sure, we helped, but still. Today she's going in for her final surgery, so that maybe she can actually enjoy the next holiday dinner she hosts. If you could send some positive vibes her way, it'd be appreciated.

When Only A Haiku Will Do

A photo of my mom, probably taken by my dad in the 70's. 

We love her so much

It is operation day

Please send her good thoughts

Happy Birthday, Mom!

My mother grew up in a small town in Pennsylvania. Her family didn't have much money, but my mother made it to Penn State anyway (her straight A's probably helped). She majored in journalism and wrote for the Daily Collegian. Since this was the early '60's, most college educated women became teachers or nurses. When my mom walked into her first professional newsroom, she was the only woman not getting coffee.

My mom dealt with being young, female and hot (she still looks so good) in a profession dominated by older men in the coolest way possible - she taught herself to drink martinis and swear like a sailor. And she became the first woman general news editor at a respected news organization. She met my dad because she was his boss (this was the mid-'60's).

Eventually she married my dad, helped him found the company they work at to this day and had me. She worked and was still "The Picture Lady" at my school (she came in and taught us about great works of art). To this day she supports me in too many ways to count and STILL brags about my ballet performances. The only time she has ever lied was to tell me about Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny. And as soon as I got old enough to question them, she told me the truth. When I loudly asked what a douche was as we were surrounded by businessmen on a crowded airplane, she did her best to answer me. She reads ALL of my blogs.

My mother will tell you that she's pushing seventy. She will tell you that after she gets home from the gym, cleans the house, works in her garden and makes a fantastic dinner (with candlelight!) or goes to ballet class, goes to work and makes a fabulous dinner. She will tell you that after she outruns my children. She will tell you that after she has a couple of martinis. She will tell you that while she hauls a huge sack of peat to her garden. She will tell you that as she puts on high heels made in Italy and an above the knee skirt and you realize that her legs are better than yours.

Have a wonderful birthday, Mom.