1. Her cooking will never be beaten.

Have you ever seen the movie, My Big Fat Greek Wedding? Well, what the producers should have called it was My Big Fat Cajun Wedding. Weddings, funerals, baptisms, Christmas or even just Sunday dinners can feed more than just your immediate family. She wakes up at the crack of dawn to heat up the oven and for the rest of the week, your house smells like baked turkey, warm gumbo and spicy rice dressing. Ca c’est bon!

2. She's the life of the party.

Yeah, sometimes it’s a little embarrassing, but put some Mardi Gras mambo or Zydeco line dancing music on and she comes to life. Those Cajun French roots sure do show their true colors. She can make anyone, no matter what age, what gender or what culture, get up to dance, sing and laugh. Even on my darkest days, she knows just what to do to get me out of my funk.

3. She's the first one to wake up, and the last to go to sleep.

She works harder than anyone else you know. She’s basically Wonder Woman! Somehow, someway, she manages to wake up at 5 a.m., work out, get ready for work, get her children ready for school, drop them off, go to work, pick them up from school, help them with homework, cook dinner, then get everyone to bed by 9 p.m. She basically puts everyone to shame when it comes to time management...you have no excuse.

4. If she's happy, everyone's happy.

Because let’s face it, she’s ALWAYS happy. Whether she’s really sad, mad, disappointed or hurt, you could never tell. She puts everyone else’s needs before her own just to make sure they’re happy. She’s the most selfless person you know.

5. She's your friend's momma too.

She’s their wake-up call in the mornings after a sleepover, she washes their dirty clothes, she makes sure their well-fed, and she greets them with big hugs. Sometimes, you even get a little jealous of how much she spoils your friends, but to her, they’re her children too and she would do anything for them.

6. She would do anything for her own children.

There is nothing she wouldn't do just to see her children happy. Even something as little as warming up your clothes before you got dressed for school that winter morning, she knows just what to do to make sure your day would be better than the one before. #ItsTheLittleThings

7. She's a small town girl.

Whether she’s from Eunice, Iota, Maurice, Houma, Cankton, Mire or any other small town USA, she knows everybody, and I mean EVERYBODY from that town. And not only does she know them, she knows their mommas, their daddies, their sisters, their brothers, their grannies, their cousins. There's nothing I love more than random people asking me, "Are you Gina Breaux's daughter? You look just like her! I grew up with her!", besides hearing the embarrassing stories about her younger days.

8. She can make you scared for your life with one single look.

Yeah, you remember that look that you use to get (and maybe still get) from her in the grocery store when she told you that you couldn't get something and you had a FIT. In my house, that look was all you needed to know that she wasn't messing around anymore. She meant serious business.

No matter where your mother is from, she's your best friend, your backbone, your shoulder to lean on and your rock. A life without her is something that can't even be fathomed. She knows when to make you smile when to hug you, when to tell you when you're wrong, when to encourage you and so much more. Every day, I thank God for the love of my momma because there's nothing else like it in the world.