what would you do for love?

Mothers are known for their self-sacrifice and boundless love. Well, some mothers are. Some are known for their preference of wire hangers over bare hands.

Mom of Whisky Pants (MoWP) is quite a woman. She has never stopped being a mom and puts a lot of grandmothers to shame. She knows (usually) when to keep her yap shut and when to intervene - I think few people understand how to keep intervention in balance/check. MoWP (and DoWP, for that matter) now shares living space with my sister, brother-in-law and their kids (the Supremes). While most grandparents are enjoying their retirement, she is helping to raise her grandchildren. She foregoes buying herself new clothing or other nice things so that she can spend money on the new house, or to buy things for the Supremes. She goes without sleep a few nights a week to give my sister and brother-in-law a break from baby duty. She has taught the baby to say my nickname!

She is there for me every single day. She is 100% supportive at least 95% of the time. Even when I make dumbass decisions (which seem to be getting rarer with age, thank goodness). She gave me a chunk of change a while back, from her own savings, to help me with a debt - and her social security check barely covers her health insurance. I think I'm supposed to pay her back for this but she has never mentioned the debt. In fact, she has directed my father to help me budget so that I can buy my own home.

She is fallible. She makes mistakes. She projects her own fears and insecurities on me. She hurts my feelings sometimes, but only because she worries about me.

She is proud of me. She thinks I'm hilarious. She thinks I'm beautiful and brilliant. She thinks I'm a good person. She loves me to the nth degree.

She gives far more of herself (time, love, and knowledge) than she expects of others. She feels badly when people don't appreciate her. They should appreciate her. She keeps family connections alive. She is the center of the family. She is my favorite person. Period.