Last week, I asked my mom for more Top 10 ideas and she said, "Top 10 things you love about your mother." That is so like her...in a good way, not in a cocky "I'm-your-mom-and-you-do-what-I-say" kind of way.
My mom flew to Utah today to take care of her sister's kids. Her sister is donating a kidney to my grandma, so she flying here for her surgery in Indianapolis. My sweet mother, out of the goodness of her heart, volunteered to go stay with her kids for 3 weeks. Since she's gone, I have now taken on the role of "mother" for Alec and Rachel. It's kind of a lonely job while they're at school all day.
I love my mom. She came downstairs this morning before she left and said, "Rachel's kind of upset with me leaving, so be aware." She hugged me goodbye and, of course, we bawled our eyes out. I just laughed and said, "We'll be good at this one day." I gained my composure and waved goodbye to my parents as they drove off. I got Alec off to Seminary and went upstairs to make my bed only to find a card with my name on it. It was from my mom. I read it and, well, consider my composure, once again, lost. I remembered that Rachel was upset and I knew I needed to be the big sister for her, so I pulled myself together again and things were great and tear-free for the rest of the day...until I started this blog. Shoot.
I'm really not a very emotional person, but when it comes to goodbyes, I'm terrible. I usually try to get them over with as quickly as possible I guess because I think that if I do it quickly, it'll seem like it was so fast that it never really happened and the pain of reality never hits me...if that makes any sense. On my last day in town, I usually spend it with my family, or in this case, my mom. However, yesterday, I drove the sister missionaries to Lebanon for their exchanges and then my mom went to her harp lesson. When she got back, I left for a movie with Sarah and my friend, Emily. I hardly saw my mom. I thought that if I treated my last day with her no different than any other, it wouldn't be so hard to say goodbye. Boy, was I wrong. I guess this is one of those things that never gets easy.
Well, all I have to say about these next two weeks is if Alec and Rachel make it out alive, I'll be surprised. I don't cook like my mom, I'm not as nice as my mom, and I'm certainly not as productive as my mom. Today, I went on a bike ride, watched Spongebob with my dad (the "Musclebob Buffpants" episode...aw yeah), read Harry Potter, and took a nap. Pretty great.
Well, after that long, dramatic introduction, here goes nothing.
1. She loves to garden.
I hate it. It looks really nice when it's all done, but I don't know anything about plants and which ones to plant when and all that jazz. Not to mention, weeds are annoying. They're like democrats. No matter how many times you pull them out or how hard you try to prevent them, they always grow back and take over...and they're ugly (Ex. Our current president). Anyway, she knows everything there is to know about plants. She could tell you the type of flower and it's color with her eyes closed. Impossible you say? Not for my mom. She's magic.
2. She taught me to play the piano.
MOM, WE NEVER PLAYED OUR DUET! Sorry, everybody. We never got it recorded, but we practiced! And let me tell you, it's going to be sweet when we eventually get this thing under our belts. We're going to be like the 5 Browns...except there are only two of us and our last name isn't Brown.
3. We think alike...YIKES!
The other day, we were driving my sister to school and we passed this guy who works for Noblesville Schools. We both hate him because he's an arrogant son of gun who's just a power hungry pig...*ahem*...anyway...as soon as we passed him, I said to my mom, "Mom, you should've hit him." She started laughing and said, "I was thinking the same thing." Haha. Pretty great, huh? I said, "Well, maybe next time when you're not in such a nice car." And if you've seen our van...well, it's not exactly top notch. It's on it's last straw. He's a '96. We named him Vincent after the artist, Vincent "Van Go."
4. She's a crazy good cook.
She'll never admit this. She doesn't give herself enough credit, but really. She's awesome. I always get some good eatin' when I come home. In fact, I'm really craving Cashew Chicken right now...or Hawaiian Haystacks. Good thing I know how to make both of those. My mom taught me!
5. She's easy to talk to.
I really feel like I can open up to my mom about anything. When I have a problem, she drops whatever she's doing and listens. She gives me her wise, motherly advice and I always feel so much better after I talk to her. She took me to lunch the other day and we spent basically the entire time talking about something that's been on my mind. She said, "Alright, tell me all about ____." So I did. I had no problem telling her and I love that.
6. We both love "White Collar."
If we weren't so careful, we'd probably end up watching this all day. We also like other sick t.v. shows like "Criminal Minds" and "Law & Order: SVU."
7. She gets embarrassed to be with me in public sometimes.
For most people, this is the other way around, but not for us. With me quoting movies all the time and not being afraid to do the voices and the actions to go with it (even when we're in a store full of people), it makes for a great sight. She especially loves it when I quote Spongebob. Yep, I'm an adult. And I still watch Spongebob. I also know that even though she won't admit it, she loves when I imitate my old cross country coach while crossing the street. ;]
8. She's super nice.
It's a fact. My mom is way nicer than me. I'm not very sympathetic sometimes...especially when people get hurt. I have a pretty high pain tolerance, so when little kids come up to me with a cut that's hardly bleeding or a little rug burn, I have to check myself so I don't get my drill-sergeant voice on and say, "Really?! Be tough and shake it off, you baby!" My mom, on the other hand, is more the type who's all sweet and says, "I have some cool band-aids up in the bathroom. Should we go take a look?"
9. We both have road rage. And it gets nasty sometimes. Mostly for me though because my mom is nice, remember?
I love that we have the same dialogue on the way to church every week. "THE SPEED LIMIT IS 55!! WHY ARE WE GOING 40??!!" or "DO I HAVE A SIGN THAT SAYS, 'DRIVE SLOWLY IN FRONT OF ME?!'" or my personal favorite that is only used on the rarest of occasions: "IF WE WEREN'T ON OUR WAY TO CHURCH...WHY I'D (imagine the rest at your own risk)...."
10. My mom and I have a good relationship.
I feel so sad for girls or mothers who, for whatever reason, make stupid decisions and miss out on having a good relationship with each other. I think the biggest thing that has made our relationship strong is that my mom was always my mother. She was never another one of my girlfriends. I mean, my mom is certainly a friendly person, but she's not one of my "friends." She's my mother. I know of too many mothers who try to be friends to their daughters. They focus so much on being "liked" by their daughters that they miss out on the precious opportunity it is to be their mother. As a mother, you're entitled to incredible responsibility of rearing and nurturing your children. You receive revelation for your children; something your friends cannot do. My mom has always been a mother. She's reared and nurtured me in the gospel and she certainly received divine inspiration on my behalf, I'm sure. Most of that inspiration probably came during my early childhood years when I was even more of a pistol than I am now. I'm sure the Spirit, on more than one occasion, said to her, "Janna, please don't kill her. She's part of your family and you'll have to live with her forever anyway. Remember that scripture that talks about how we'll be the same in Heaven as we are on Earth? Now, you can fix her right now and let her be however you fix her to be forever and ever or you can kill her and send her to Heaven as she is right now and she'll make your life hell for billions and billions and billions and billions and billions and billions..." you get the idea. Okay, so maybe that's not correct doctrine, but if it saved my life, I'm good with it!
Something I get all the time is, "You look so much like your mom!" My dad has always made it very clear that if someone compliments us on our good looks, we need to remember that we got those from him. Now, don't get me wrong, my dad is one heck of a stud, but you can't deny the fact that I'm my mother's daughter.
This was Spring Break 2006 at Capistrano Beach in California.
My mom flew to Utah today to take care of her sister's kids. Her sister is donating a kidney to my grandma, so she flying here for her surgery in Indianapolis. My sweet mother, out of the goodness of her heart, volunteered to go stay with her kids for 3 weeks. Since she's gone, I have now taken on the role of "mother" for Alec and Rachel. It's kind of a lonely job while they're at school all day.
I love my mom. She came downstairs this morning before she left and said, "Rachel's kind of upset with me leaving, so be aware." She hugged me goodbye and, of course, we bawled our eyes out. I just laughed and said, "We'll be good at this one day." I gained my composure and waved goodbye to my parents as they drove off. I got Alec off to Seminary and went upstairs to make my bed only to find a card with my name on it. It was from my mom. I read it and, well, consider my composure, once again, lost. I remembered that Rachel was upset and I knew I needed to be the big sister for her, so I pulled myself together again and things were great and tear-free for the rest of the day...until I started this blog. Shoot.
I'm really not a very emotional person, but when it comes to goodbyes, I'm terrible. I usually try to get them over with as quickly as possible I guess because I think that if I do it quickly, it'll seem like it was so fast that it never really happened and the pain of reality never hits me...if that makes any sense. On my last day in town, I usually spend it with my family, or in this case, my mom. However, yesterday, I drove the sister missionaries to Lebanon for their exchanges and then my mom went to her harp lesson. When she got back, I left for a movie with Sarah and my friend, Emily. I hardly saw my mom. I thought that if I treated my last day with her no different than any other, it wouldn't be so hard to say goodbye. Boy, was I wrong. I guess this is one of those things that never gets easy.
Well, all I have to say about these next two weeks is if Alec and Rachel make it out alive, I'll be surprised. I don't cook like my mom, I'm not as nice as my mom, and I'm certainly not as productive as my mom. Today, I went on a bike ride, watched Spongebob with my dad (the "Musclebob Buffpants" episode...aw yeah), read Harry Potter, and took a nap. Pretty great.
Well, after that long, dramatic introduction, here goes nothing.
1. She loves to garden.
I hate it. It looks really nice when it's all done, but I don't know anything about plants and which ones to plant when and all that jazz. Not to mention, weeds are annoying. They're like democrats. No matter how many times you pull them out or how hard you try to prevent them, they always grow back and take over...and they're ugly (Ex. Our current president). Anyway, she knows everything there is to know about plants. She could tell you the type of flower and it's color with her eyes closed. Impossible you say? Not for my mom. She's magic.
2. She taught me to play the piano.
MOM, WE NEVER PLAYED OUR DUET! Sorry, everybody. We never got it recorded, but we practiced! And let me tell you, it's going to be sweet when we eventually get this thing under our belts. We're going to be like the 5 Browns...except there are only two of us and our last name isn't Brown.
3. We think alike...YIKES!
The other day, we were driving my sister to school and we passed this guy who works for Noblesville Schools. We both hate him because he's an arrogant son of gun who's just a power hungry pig...*ahem*...anyway...as soon as we passed him, I said to my mom, "Mom, you should've hit him." She started laughing and said, "I was thinking the same thing." Haha. Pretty great, huh? I said, "Well, maybe next time when you're not in such a nice car." And if you've seen our van...well, it's not exactly top notch. It's on it's last straw. He's a '96. We named him Vincent after the artist, Vincent "Van Go."
4. She's a crazy good cook.
She'll never admit this. She doesn't give herself enough credit, but really. She's awesome. I always get some good eatin' when I come home. In fact, I'm really craving Cashew Chicken right now...or Hawaiian Haystacks. Good thing I know how to make both of those. My mom taught me!
5. She's easy to talk to.
I really feel like I can open up to my mom about anything. When I have a problem, she drops whatever she's doing and listens. She gives me her wise, motherly advice and I always feel so much better after I talk to her. She took me to lunch the other day and we spent basically the entire time talking about something that's been on my mind. She said, "Alright, tell me all about ____." So I did. I had no problem telling her and I love that.
6. We both love "White Collar."
If we weren't so careful, we'd probably end up watching this all day. We also like other sick t.v. shows like "Criminal Minds" and "Law & Order: SVU."
7. She gets embarrassed to be with me in public sometimes.
For most people, this is the other way around, but not for us. With me quoting movies all the time and not being afraid to do the voices and the actions to go with it (even when we're in a store full of people), it makes for a great sight. She especially loves it when I quote Spongebob. Yep, I'm an adult. And I still watch Spongebob. I also know that even though she won't admit it, she loves when I imitate my old cross country coach while crossing the street. ;]
8. She's super nice.
It's a fact. My mom is way nicer than me. I'm not very sympathetic sometimes...especially when people get hurt. I have a pretty high pain tolerance, so when little kids come up to me with a cut that's hardly bleeding or a little rug burn, I have to check myself so I don't get my drill-sergeant voice on and say, "Really?! Be tough and shake it off, you baby!" My mom, on the other hand, is more the type who's all sweet and says, "I have some cool band-aids up in the bathroom. Should we go take a look?"
9. We both have road rage. And it gets nasty sometimes. Mostly for me though because my mom is nice, remember?
I love that we have the same dialogue on the way to church every week. "THE SPEED LIMIT IS 55!! WHY ARE WE GOING 40??!!" or "DO I HAVE A SIGN THAT SAYS, 'DRIVE SLOWLY IN FRONT OF ME?!'" or my personal favorite that is only used on the rarest of occasions: "IF WE WEREN'T ON OUR WAY TO CHURCH...WHY I'D (imagine the rest at your own risk)...."
10. My mom and I have a good relationship.
I feel so sad for girls or mothers who, for whatever reason, make stupid decisions and miss out on having a good relationship with each other. I think the biggest thing that has made our relationship strong is that my mom was always my mother. She was never another one of my girlfriends. I mean, my mom is certainly a friendly person, but she's not one of my "friends." She's my mother. I know of too many mothers who try to be friends to their daughters. They focus so much on being "liked" by their daughters that they miss out on the precious opportunity it is to be their mother. As a mother, you're entitled to incredible responsibility of rearing and nurturing your children. You receive revelation for your children; something your friends cannot do. My mom has always been a mother. She's reared and nurtured me in the gospel and she certainly received divine inspiration on my behalf, I'm sure. Most of that inspiration probably came during my early childhood years when I was even more of a pistol than I am now. I'm sure the Spirit, on more than one occasion, said to her, "Janna, please don't kill her. She's part of your family and you'll have to live with her forever anyway. Remember that scripture that talks about how we'll be the same in Heaven as we are on Earth? Now, you can fix her right now and let her be however you fix her to be forever and ever or you can kill her and send her to Heaven as she is right now and she'll make your life hell for billions and billions and billions and billions and billions and billions..." you get the idea. Okay, so maybe that's not correct doctrine, but if it saved my life, I'm good with it!
Something I get all the time is, "You look so much like your mom!" My dad has always made it very clear that if someone compliments us on our good looks, we need to remember that we got those from him. Now, don't get me wrong, my dad is one heck of a stud, but you can't deny the fact that I'm my mother's daughter.
This was Spring Break 2006 at Capistrano Beach in California.
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