In the grand scheme of things, my mother doesn’t stand out. She’s never saved someone from drowning, or created a school for poor children, or fought to end poverty. My mother is a simple women: she likes reading, sleeping, and watching TV. She may not be an extraordinary person to the world, but these reasons below are what make her the most extraordinary ordinary person I know.
She Has Mom Super Powers
All moms have mind-blowing superpowers, like being right all of the time and being able to find any lost item, but my mom’s specialty comes with food. Having five kids is rough. We’re all different, and we all have our own picky preferences. My mother cannot make a single meal without a side eye at the food from one of my siblings and I. Instead of making us suffer through disgust, my mother accommodates the food to our taste. She makes sure everyone has something to eat and that our food is prepared in a way we like to eat it. Even something as simple as steak for dinner can be a potential crisis if not coordinated correctly: Sydney will eat no fat and no burnt pieces, Savanna only tolerates a little fat on her steak, Jack’s steak must be called “chicken,” or else he won’t he eat it. And that's just one food item! When it came to making our lunches when were kids, my mom was a complete wizard. She knew (and still knows) every single Capri sun flavor every single one of us liked and disliked along with our inflexible snack selections. She may call my siblings and I every name under the sun except for our own, but Mom sure does know our taste buds.She's Noble
In a world where cheating the system is easy and socially acceptable, my mother has always upheld her character. She’s shown me that sometimes doing the right thing might actually put you at a disadvantage, but being morally upright is more important than “getting ahead.”She Introduced Me To The 80's
Oh the 80’s. An era of big hair, interesting fashion statements, and irresistibly iconic pop culture. My mother was the one who exposed me to this gem of a decade. Movie nights with the brat pack and car rides with hours upon hours of hits from my mother’s teen years filled a significant part of my childhood. Now that I’m older, I’m still crazy for the 80’s. On my 16th birthday, I received no “happy birthdays” from my family in true "16 Candles"style. My bed now hosts a heart shaped pillow my mother made in sewing class and adorned with Jon Bon Jovi buttons. I’ve even managed to salvage some wearable pieces from my mother’s closet to clash her teen years with mine, but needless to say, her prom dress will not be making an appearance at my senior prom:
She Lets Me Think For Myself
My mother has never told me how to think about anything. Drugs, sex, religion, swearing, politics- she’s never impressed her beliefs and practices on me. She has never tried to manipulate me into thinking one way or another. She certainly has her own opinions about things and has shared those opinions when asked, but she’s always allowed her children to formulate our own stances and become our own person.
She's The Strongest Person I Know
Being a mom in general is pretty tough, but my mom’s really had some rough days. When my siblings and I were younger and she was a single mom for a while, I remember headache filled car rides and too many things to do. I remember one long day in particular where we finally got home and my mom just stood looking out the window and said, “If I was my mother, I’d cry right now.” I love my grandmother but she, and anyone else for that matter, would have cried after that day. But not Mom. She just moved from that window and started to take care of everyone else but herself. Because that’s what Mom does when the going gets tough: she just keeps going.She's Never Let Finances Get In The Way
We’ve never been wealthy. I know there were times where it must have been really hard on my mom, but she never let my siblings and I know it. We may not have had the newest toys or the coolest clothes, but Mom made sure we had fun. We would go to the park or the library of the grocery store with her and that was our fun, “going out” activity. For birthdays, we never really had any parties, but the house was always accessorized with dollar store decorations and a couple small but thoughtful gifts.
Even now that I’m older and we’re better off than we used to be, I know there are still a lot that we can’t afford. I’m at the point where I’m starting to look into colleges. We’re too well off to receive federal funds but too poor to be able to pay for tuition. My mom’s made it clear to me that she can’t afford to help me with the cost, but she’s made it even more clear that finances shouldn’t stop me from going to my dream school. Because whether it’s school or trips or anything else, my mom has always found a way to make it work so that we can be happy.
She Accepts My Quirks
For some reason, my mother has only seemed to create very strange children. My siblings and I are all very weird. I’ve seen where moms try to hush those quirks, but my mom has always found them hilarious. One of the best examples of this is with me. At 15, I wrote my mom a poem for Mother’s day…about her womb. The first two lines were “I love you Mom / I miss the womb”. Naturally, the poem went on to talk about the comforting amniotic fluid and peaceful serenity of darkness and eventually the terrible process of leaving into the harsh light of the world. Strange, I know. I was cracking up while writing it, and when I gave it to her, Mom cracked up while reading it. She then asked me to post it to her Facebook for her. This past Christmas, I continued the womb-related work and painted a picture of myself as the golden fetus in my favorite place. That was also proudly posted to Facebook (this time she even did it all by herself). The womb obsession is just one of the many strange, unorthodox behaviors that fill our household, and what is amazing about the whole thing is that my momther accepts and supports every single one of them.
She's Involved In My Life
Some people hate when their parents know their business, and I can admit that her constant reminders about stuff I have to do can be annoying sometimes, but for the most part, I thoroughly enjoy my mom being involved in my life. Whenever I tell her something, I don’t have to give her the whole back story that happened months ago because she already knows it. She is interested in the things I’m interested in, and she always asks about my friends and my activities. She doesn’t talk to me to be nosy or overbearing, but because she genuinely cares. She’s one of my best friends and her participation in my life is something simple, but it means a lot.
She Knows Everything
History, science, literature, you name it -- my mother knows something about everything. And when you ask her a simple question, you will get a 30 minute lesson before reaching the answer to your very simple question. Please utilize her knowledge at your own risk.She's The Ripe Age of 44
After 44 years on the earth, Mom has popped out 5 kids, worked at Sam’s Club, and done a few things in between. That might not seem like an impressive record, but what’s so impressive about my mother’s life are the things that people don’t know. Like I’ve said before, she probably hasn’t done anything that would cause news channels to bang on her door, asking for a quote, but the little, everyday things she does, she does them in a humble way. She does what is right, but she doesn’t make a big deal out of it. She never asks for recognition, and that’s really what makes my mom great. So happy birthday Mom! Here’s to another year of being extraordinarily ordinary!