Copied off Marie: Our Mom

She turned 59 this Friday, and we had a family supper to celebrate. It would be hard to give you a full picture of the woman my mother is in a single post, but here are a few things about Sheila.*I can say with 100% certainty, I have never heard her say anything bad about someone. Ever.*Not only that, but if she hears someone say something about another person she interjects with, "Well, I don't know about that, but I have always found....." and says something nice about them.*It is because of her I feel I must sew homemade costumes, do all the haircuts myself, bake homemade bread, can peaches, have themed birthday parties, and keep a very, very clean house.*She is truly a supermom.*She always made sure I knew I was smart.*She loves my father with her whole heart.*She feels deeply for other people.*She is the first one to bring someone cinnamon buns when something sad or something happy happens to them.*She has always been very aware of maintaining her figure. But her diets are hilarious. Sometimes she won't eat supper, just dessert. The calories even out, so what is the difference?*She is a master baker.*She had brain surgery when I was 10 that left her with significant physical challenges. This year is the 17th anniversary of that surgery.*She loves being a grandma, and dotes on her grandchildren. P-R-O-U-D!*She smiles every time she sees me.*She should have named me Barb-I-Mean-Marie, rather than just Marie, since that is what she always calls me.*She is willing to go the second mile (and the third, and the fourth...) for someone she loves.*She laughs at her own mistakes.*She works hard at everything she does.*If she can't sleep at night, she gets up and does laundry, or mops the floor, or something else productive until she is tired enough to sleep. If I can't sleep, I watch a movie.*She used to do aerobics every morning when I was young. I totally can see her jumping around the living room in my mind.*She makes jello salad every Sunday.*She is strong willed.*She has tender feelings that get hurt easily.*She wants nothing more than for her family to be happy and whole.*She is enthusiastic about life.*She made small occasions feel big while I was growing up.*She looked for ways to make us happy as children.*She loved to smell my hair after I had washed it.*She loves to watch Jeopardy. In our home, supper was at 6pm because that was when Jeopardy was over.*She is truly shocked when she hears about bad things that people have done.*She is a very attentive daughter to my Grandma.*She hasn't missed a month of visiting teaching in at least a decade.*She is a lady.*I never worry about her not loving me.Sometimes when I say or do something, Dirk will look at me and say, "Oh, Hello Sheila." He is trying to tease me, I know, but what could be a better compliment?