Definitely not from a box

My mom is so uniquely herself and so amazing.....
~Everything was from scratch....birthday cakes, pancakes, waffles, cinnamon rolls.
~I love her long hair.....she is at the age where there is some wierd expectation that once you hit the mid-50s you are supposed to cut your hair.  My mom's hair...is her....so her...if she cut her hair...it would be too wierd.....it is long and thick and the most beautiful milk chocolate color.....please never cut it.
~She always has snacks.  If for some reason you became stuck in the desert and you thought the end was near....you would want my mom with you.  She ALWAYS is well prepared with hidden granola bars and cookies and boxes of raisins.  She also has the YUM drawer in her house in case that dreaded sugar-tooth bites.
~When we were kids we didn't have a TV for a very long time.  And when we got TV we had four channels.  So I remember going to Girl Scout camp when I was around 8 and all these girls were talking about some group called Duran Duran and I pretended to know what they were talking about.  I am sure this lack of television is directly proportionate to the fact that I ended up spending a ton of time outside or at the Flagstaff Public Library.  Therefore, I directly contribute my lack of television watching to my absolute love of books.....I shall even go so far as to say that I probably would have never gone to college or have graduated from college if we had had cable because I probably would have become obsessed with how hot Andy Taylor was.
~My mom was an amazing teacher.  School teacher...and life teacher.   In school, she was strict and as far as I am concerned, that is how all teachers should be(that is probably how parents should be too).  You can be fun and strict...the perfect combo.  She would never put up with the scantily clad girls running around these days(GO put on this xxxl tshirt and cover up!)......to this day her students that see her always remind her of what a great teacher she was.....
~Speaking of preparedness.....she is the ultimate Girl Scout.  She can fish, hunt, hike, camp like nobody's business.  She can garden and grow and create and sew and feed you the most amazing meals.
~She loves us immensely.  She is our best friend, our biggest champion, an infinitely positive person.  While others were stuck inside, she showed us the falls, the mountains, the streams, the ruins, the creeks (we weren't always sooo willing but I can attest that it made a positive impact on our lives.)  She showed us beauty in trees and water and doing more with less.  We are better parents because of her. She gave us trust when other parents didn't (I still can't believe you let me go to Mexico when I was a senior :))  She taught me about peace and Mother Earth and being gentle with her and making sure to have independent thoughts (GDI).  She never let us drink soda, we ate homemade granola and we never got sugared cereal.  By far our greatest moments are sitting for hours in her kitchen and laughing.....she is an amazing mom and grandma.  We have been blessed to be your kids.

I love you Mom....happy madre's day.....peace.