HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!! To my knowledge, my Mom dosen't read my blog. Actually, she probably dosen't even know what a blog is. But that dosen't make her a bad person.

Mom and I have an interesting relationship, to say the least. Her relationship with her mom wasn't much to brag about, and I really don't think she knows what a proper mother/daughter relationship is all about. Once I realized that, I started giving her more slack. A little slack, anyway.

She and my Dad got divorced in 1976. I was 12, my brother 7. Divorce wasn't exactly a common thing then, like it sadly is now. She hadn't worked since probably '62 or '63, before she was pregnant with me, but suddenly had 2 kids, 2 dogs, 3 cats, 2 ponies and a mortgage all on her own. She started working at a Holiday Inn as a hostess, then moved to the front desk. After that ended, she started running a flower/gift shop in town. In her down time she studied for her real estate license, because that was something she always wanted to do. In 1981 she took the test and failed it. She regrouped, studied harder and took the test again in 1982. Passed with flying colors, and went into real estate. She worked her ass off. No cell phone then, kids. No part time realtors. When you got into it, real estate was your life. Christmas, Easter, Mother's Day, birthdays, the phone rang. She'd take every single call. When she sold a property, she'd take us kids to the only fancy restaurant in town, we'd dress up, order fancy dinners and kiddie cocktails. It was a reward, she told us, because we helped her out by taking proper phone messages (I still answer the phone at her house the way I was taught!) and doing stuff around the house. We were independent from way back.

So she's been doing this for over 20 years. She never remarried, and I think she's lonely. We've talked about this a lot, but she isn't going to give up her ability to do what she wants, when she wants for the sake of companionship.

I love my Mother. I'm scared to death of her, scared to death for her, and I respect her for all she has accomplished. She has her warts, but don't we all?