My mom gave birth to me when she was nearly 40 years old.  Back in 1970, that was considered a medical miracle.  She didn’t miss a beat.  She and my dad were in the midst of building a new house.  And she was firmly entrenched in a successful accounting career.

Pregnancy did not phase her.   She made labor her bitch.  From the time her water broke, I was born less than one hour later.  As my mom would later say, “I don’t mess around.”  That was her motto for years to come.

My mom puts the sense in no-nonsense.  I could not fuss.  I could not muss.  And try as I might, I was not allowed to whine.  (I made up for it after I moved out of the house.)

There are lots of random things I remember about my mom.  She had a laundry list of sayings she would use.   Most became staples in my vernacular.  I had a bad habit of leaving things strewn about the house.  My mom would point at something and say, “1-2-3, drop where you be!”  That was code for pick your stuff up … or else.

As long as I can remember, my mom would wake up before the sun came up.  The morning was her time.  Time to have some peace and quiet.  Time to smoke and have a cup of coffee.  Time to watch the sun come up and reflect.  I missed 98% of those mornings with mom because I was usually unconscious until at least noon.  And then crabby until about 2pm.  Now, though, I’ll get up an hour earlier than I need to … just to appreciate the wee morning hours.   Once again, my mom was right.  (Don’t ever tell her I told you that.)

My mom loved “M*A*S*H*”, thus so did I.   I also owe my love of Erma Bombeck and broccoli to her.  I also despise corned beef casserole to this day because that was a staple growing up.  Just the thought of corned beef in ANY capacity is enough to instigate my gag reflex.  But, on the flip side, any time I think of “Klinger” or hear something about Loretta Swit, it brings an insta-smile to my face.

Today is Mother’s Day.  I came home (albeit briefly) just to see my Mom and hang.  It’s now mutual admiration society around the house.  In fact, I actually got up before her this morning.  (Mainly because I had to pee, but whatever.)  She slept in until 6:20am.  It IS her day, after all.