Two Dozen. Long-stemmed. Pink. ... On the fat side.

These lovely pink roses go out to my lovely mama. My computer came down with a virus on Mother's Day, so I was unable to post anything Mom-specific on that special day. Of course, I still called her, as I am wont to do on an almost-daily basis, anyway. (I'm not even kidding. Jude and I are pretty tight. I love her, in case you hadn't noticed.)

Today, I was thinking about my mom. Specifically, I was thinking about what a great example she has been for me, for so many people, on so many levels: selfless service (a quality I did not inherit - it seems that neither nature nor nurture could turn me into a "really, really nice Mormon lady" a la Ude), a happy disposition (which I do my best to emulate every day of my life), a cheerful attitude (again, I try, but my mother, I am not), and a ready laugh (this I can claim as well). My mom never complains. It's a little inhuman sometimes, how cheerful and pleasant she can be. But a Stepford Wife, she is not. She is truly good and patient and loving. She is long-suffering and kind. She is everything good in the world, and every bit of me that is even a little good or kind or fun is there because she is who raised me.

Thanks, Mom, for setting the bar so high. Thanks for loving me, for loving everyone, so completely. I'm super glad your heart rate never slowed to zero, that you've been here for my whole life. I love you! (Enough to send you two dozen, long-stemmed pink roses... on the fat side. Virtually, if not literally. But really, that's only because we all know that you'd probably have to pay for them, living as I am on a part-time salary right now. You, you, you. (And your pocketbook.) That's all I ever think about.)