Happy Mother's Day!

I thought I'd come out of my recent reticence for a very important post on a very important day!

This is the day I get to honor my mother.

I was born 30 years ago to a truly incredible woman. Her name is Helen Louise which is wonderfully descriptive of who she is in the world; Helen meaning "light" and Louise meaning "renowned fighter". She is a notable warrior for goodness in the world.

For those of you who haven't met my mother, here are a few of my favorite details about her:

1. She was a hippie. She believed in all of the great hippie values: peace, love, and happiness. She still does! Even better, she was a hippie who somehow avoided naming me Moonray or Sundance.
2. She was a debutante. I love this little piece of my mom's history. You should see the pictures... she was so gorgeous with a huge bouquet of roses and a sixties flip. She actually tried to get out of "coming out", but you know how southern aristocratic families are.
   
3. She was a theatre major. I remember growing up watching my mom in community theatre. She was Nancy in Oliver and Peter in Peter Pan. I have very vivid memories of watching her being strangled by Bill Sykes in rehearsals. I was only 5 or 6 and was horrified the first time, but then, when she miraculously came back to life backstage, I was able to watch her being killed over and over with no apparent psychological scarring! If you have a chance, ask her about kissing a Prince in Into the Woods. Very funny story Here she is singing a solo in Coming of Age.
4. She has never been afraid to make a career change. My mother has tried her hand at many jobs during my lifetime: College Counselor, Psych Ward Director, Ski Patroller, Hospice Management.... and she always seems to know when it's time to make a change. A few years ago, she was ordained as an Episcopal Priest and is very committed to this calling. Still, she has an inner entrepreneur and I wouldn't be surprised if she opens a business on the side!
5. She is an avid birdwatcher. My mother is as excited to tell me about day-to-day birdfeeder dramas as she is about a great movie she may have seen. She always seems to be shocked and honored when a rare "crested whatsit" chooses to grace her back porch. If George Clooney rang her doorbell, I don't think he would get the same reaction! Poor George!
6. She is one of the most open-minded people I know. Um - I could go into some detail here, but probably shouldn't. Let's just say, social scandals never phase my Mom. She is as gracious to a surprise child born out of wedlock or an overly rude elder or the neighborhood vagrant as she is to any upstanding citizen. This comes in quite handy when a certain daughter calls home announce a sudden commitment ceremony to a foreign man her mother has never met.
7. She has a strange and unwavering commitment to make a Christmas dessert that no one ever eats. The desert is called Ribbon Salad and if you have a hankering to try such a thing, please come by our house around the 25th of December. Bring some friends. There will be more than enough to go around seeing as how, otherwise, it will sit untouched in the fridge until the New Year when it is thrown out with the tree.
   
8. She was allergic to cats and avoided having an indoor cat until she was tricked by the bleeding hearts of Holy Cross Church into saving a stranded kitten. She named the kitten "Dipsh*t" because she was pretty annoyed at having to care for a pitiful animal she never wanted in the first place. The more time Mom spent with that kitten, the fonder she became of the little fuzzball. "Dipsh*t" became "Dingbat" then just "Ding" and then "Ring". At some point Mom added the Ms. and Ms. Ring wound up living with us until she died many years later. She was my mother's favorite pet.

So there is an introduction... later today I'll tell you about the impact she's had on my life and the many gifts she's given me over the years. I love you Mom!