Perhaps one of my first memories of mom were of her in the kitchen, always making stuff for her family. She was always doing things for us, practially whenever we asked. I remember her e-mailing me a few weeks ago to tell me she was making pizza for Casey and his friends. As I have become a mother, I look at that now as amazing and wonderful, especially for all the effort and time that kind of work takes.

Mom always believed in teaching us to be self-reliant. One time when I was in the back porch using the tubs, I somehow knocked the pipe from the drain and made a big watery mess. I called for mom to help me (I really didn't want to do it - it was a BIG mess!), and she told me I was old enough (15 or 16 at the time) to take care of it myself. I don't blame her. She had the disasters of 4 other kids to take care of, so she didn't always need to take care of mine.

Perhaps my favorite thing about mom was that she always answered my questions - and I had a lot of questions. She always took them seriously, even though they often showed how little I really did know. I really enjoyed all the discussions, serious or not, about politics, life, and the pursuit of happiness.

I love to tell people about my mom, because I know there is no mom in the world like mine. I only hope that I can be the same mother to Amber that she we was to me.