you know what's cool?

Having an awesome mom. My mom rules. I brag about my childhood to everyone. We did so much with so little - we weren't poor but we certainly weren't (and still aren't) rich. But we were.. creative.
Every summer we made a page long list of things we wanted to do. I distinctively remember adding "Put on a play of a Berenstein Bear's book in the living room" - we picked one of our favorite Berenstein Bear books and tried our best to act it out. Every year we were avid library-summer readers. I think for a few years in a row, I won the award of "reading the most books"! Every day, we were doing something fun and exciting. My mom also sacrificed her life, basically, for us. She stopped working and was a full time mom. My dad worked 40 hours a week, so she was stuck with us all the time. (my 2 brothers and I) I really think she enjoyed almost every minute of it, though!

mommy and daddy! together for 30 years! woah. 

I've never been to Florida or any of the Disney places. I have no desire to go, really. We went to 6 flags a few times (each time eating lunch in the parking lot, which was way more fun than eating at one of those gross restaurants!) Splash Down Dunes (the BEST place ever-  I plan on going sometime this summer! NO!! upon looking it up, I found out they CLOSED!! I'm sooo sad now.) and I practically lived at our community pool. When friends would brag about going to Disney World, I'd be like "what is that?" haha.

What I'm trying to say is that you don't need a lot to get the most out of life. I am 23 now, and I'm not sure if it's the way I was raised or if it's just me, but I don't need a lot to love my life. (Sure, I have a LOT... but half of what I own is inventory!) I don't need nice things (as stated in previous blog post) but I think that my mom raised us to be crafty, creative and smart - make the best with what you have.

I feel so lucky, even today. My mom supports me no matter what I do. When I told her "oh yea, I'm gonna be traveling to SouthEast Asia all by myself for two months" she said "Go." (my dad is another story..) but she understands that I need to be me. I do insane things like travel by myself at the age of 20. When I decided that I wanted to go to school for design, she was happy for me. She doesn't question me unless it's the "good" kind of questioning- to help me figure out what I'm trying to figure out. She believes in me and will always be my #1 fan. I can call her almost any time of the day and talk to her, vent, or ask her questions about life. Neither one of my parents judge me - although my dad has a hard time understanding me, but a lot of people have that problem ;)

So, here's to you mom! You are the best mom I could ask for. I'm probably the way I am because of you and dad. I am so proud of who I've become, how FAR I've come, and how far I know I'll go to follow my dreams. Thanks for sticking by me for the entire journey so far, and I hope you will stick with me for many many many more years!!!!

Love always,
Marjie