I used to think people lost their humor when they grew up, but then I met Mom Pat, and she put me to shame. Let me just say that the Kappa girls have one spunky House Mom.

I would like to think of myself as a decently funny person (I'm sure some of y'all are laughing at me right now for saying that), but I could barely keep up with Mom Pat's wittiness because it was so natural! She must have been blessed with the ability to bring light to situations and keep people's chins up. It must have been her work background that made her perfect for this job.

Mom Pat used to be a high school teacher for 25 years, while she also owned six weekly newspapers (which she still owns). When Mom Pat went back to school at OSU for her graduate degree in Theatre, she turned the years after that into a time of needing money and traveling all over to teach for it. Her career ranged from speaking at colleges to writing as an adjunct for prisons.

"The good thing about teaching theatre at a prison," she said, "was that there were always males to play the parts." Mom Pat used that experience to do a lot of shows that she couldn't do before at other schools.

Teaching was really something she loved, but after being told she would need four more years to get a mere $60 increase in salary per month, Mom Pat knew it was time for something else. It didn't hurt that she had an epiphany 10 years ago when she pictured herself as Kappa's House Mom. She always knew that Kappa was where she belonged. It was the way the House Mom before her came back to Kappa - after she had nursed an injury and had a whole other life to live - that made Mom Pat realize how special the girls of Kappa are.

You can imagine the transition from having your own life and career, and then moving into a house with 92 college girls and trying to get settled. But Mom Pat has got it made in her apartment. Its cozy, properly decorated and stocked with candy, spacious with multiple rooms (including an office) and she has a place for her grandkids to play when they visit her as well. 

Speaking of family visiting, every Thanksgiving her three children and their families come to see her at Kappa. The things I would have done for my grandmother to live in a sorority house that I could stay in over the holidays... I don't know how she gets them to go home! 

Her Kappa ladies like to tease her about technology, and test her on people like Eminem and how many miles he went. Was it eight or nine? Mom Pat can handle the banter though. 

The day before I got to sit down with her, I was at Kappa taking an online test when Mom Pat walked up and put one of her girls in a choke hold (don't worry she could still breathe). It's things like that, and her chasing girls around the table during dinner, that make her perfect for her job.

A sweet aspect of her job is when her two granddaughters come to visit Kappa and the girls get to hangout with all of the lovely ladies in the house. "I swear they think that all they have to do when they grow up is be pretty and they get to be a Kappa, too!" Mom Pat said. 

It is such a cool thing that her granddaughters get to feel so special and be treated to a day in the life of college girls. I know being able to see that is something so special to Mom Pat.

Another thing you can guarantee is that a part of Mom Pat's life is music and art. Her treat to herself when she pays bills is getting to listen to a record on her record player. Part of the reason her girls can walk right into her room is because she is blaring music so loudly that hearing someone knock is out of the question.

Like always, getting to know different House Moms is exciting and something that I look forward to. After sitting with Mom Pat, I already look forward to more talks and bonding over our love for our cats who, sadly, don't get to live with us because house pets aren't a thing for our landlords.