J. ANNE

It was 1995.  Boyz II Men was my everything.  As a middle schooler it was the most epic form of flattery for your boyfriend of three weeks to dedicate ‘On Bended Knee’ to you at the Valentine’s Day dance.  So when my mom told me and my brother and sister that we got to drive from New Mexico to Arizona… alone… to go see a Boyz II Men concert with my oldest sister who had left for college… I’m not sure I can find the words to describe my elation.  It was of insane magnitude.  I laid myself in the back seat of my second oldest sister’s 1985 gold Honda Civic… and I blasted ‘Water Runs Dry’ and ‘Yesterday’ through my disc man.  The sun pierced through the window so hard that I remember thinking… maybe I can get a tan on my legs while we drive.

I cried during the concert.  Like any barely-a-teenage girl should.

To say that I had a rad mom growing up is an understatement.  She was the mom who let me have my friends over, and we be as loud as we wanted.  She let me throw epic dance parties in my front lawn.  Dance parties that are surely remembered by all of my friends who snuck behind a pecan tree once or twice to grab a quick makeout sesh with their boyfriend of three weeks.  She was the mom who followed the school bus to every volleyball tournament and every softball game, and cheered as though she wasn’t bored out of her mind.  She claims she wasn’t.

But my mom was also the one who reeled me in when I got too sassy.  Put me in line when I thought the world revolved around me.  But yet, wanted to wrap me in bubble wrap when she dropped me off for college.  She was the mom that I hated from the time I was 14 until the time that she wasn’t in the next room.  Rather, she was two states away.

It is hard to live so far away from my family… especially when I have my own kids now.  My three little piggies make me realize what it is to be a mom, and just how much my mom sacrificed to give me the life that I dreamed of having.

So, Happy Mother’s Day to my mom.  The mom who was cool enough to let me take a few chances in life, but was sure to be holding the safety net for when I fell.

But… this post wouldn’t be complete without a quick shout out to the boys in my life that make everyday Mother’s Day.  Hudson is old enough to say that I have Mother’s Day flowers and to kiss and hug me… but Griffin and Brodrick think it’s just another day.  And really… it is just another day.  Another day filled with Griffin’s screams and adorable laughs.  Brodrick’s giggles and swagger-filled crawl.  Hudson’s cuddles and tons of kisses throughout the day.  It’s just another day that I get to be thankful for spending my life with three little boys who make my world.  And one bigger boy who knows how much I love flowers…  I love you all so much.

Quick shout out to Catherine over at Layers of Lovely for the gorgeous bouquet that  she put together for me!!  Thank you so much!!  xo.