Six Peeps

June 18, 2010

My momma didn’t raise no fool! CONGRATS MOM!

I know the timing is a little awkward, being just a couple days away from Father’s Day… but in a few, I will have a tribute to my dad, who is amazing as well

But my mom, after something like 35 or 36 years (shoot, maybe even more than that!) of teaching little rugrats in elementary schools, has FINALLY retired.  And well deserved!

CONGRATS, MOM!

Now let me tell you a few things about my mom…

Growing up, things was HARD! (that’s horrible grammar, used purposefully for the sake of making us sound extra “ghetto”.  I might do more of that throughout this blog post.  To my potential wedding clients, please know that I am really literate.)

My parents were divorced and no, nothing against either my mom or my dad.  They are both great parents.  Its just that my mom was cursed with the extra responsibility of raising us kids!  Actually my older sister Gina left to live with my dad at one point and I believe she packed a curse that was even greater than my little sister, Katherine and I together! haha!  So my dad didn’t have it any easier – someday I will post about Gina and how she used to have parties and stole my dad’s car and smoked cigarettes while listening to Guns-n-Roses! haha!

That’s Gina on the far right. Kat, in the middle, on vocals, and that’s me on the left.  At least we had style.  Not pictured, are Gina’s leg warmers that she wore even in the brutal summers in Arizona.  And I was a style-setter myself.  Have you ever seen the top-hat, aviator glasses, Redskin’s t-shirt with maracas combo?  Didn’t think so.  I was a regular Derek Zoolander.

OK where was I… oh yeah.  Times was hard!

My mom spent the majority of my childhood working really hard.  She worked all day teaching 2nd graders, would come home, make a quick dinner for Kat and I (the routine was something like… Monday: Burritos heated in a microwave; Tuesday, Spaghetti;  Wednesday, Chip beef on toast; Thursday, Chicken broccoli casserole, which I hated; Friday: Little Caesar’s Pizza; Saturday she’d bring us to Chili’s for a burger or on really special occasions, to Furr’s Cafeteria.   Believe it or not, we all went CRAZY for Furrs!  Usually we’d go on “payday”; and Sunday she’d cook a nice Sunday dinner for us).

Usually after dinner, she’d be off to Chili’s where she worked as a server.

Times was tough, but my mom, the hardest working woman I have EVER met, still made sure to be a good mom.

She was also a tough mom.  Raised on tough love herself, she handed it down to us.  But I appreciate it.  I am so thankful that she never let me watch TV.  If it was nice outside, I was ordered to go out and ride my bike and play.  So many parents use the TV as nanny or a baby sitter.

When I would get sick, my mom always surprised me with a SUZYQ.  Ever had one?  They are awesome:

And my mom forced me to go out for sports.  I believe that parenting move in particular changed my life right there.  I started to enjoy sports and my friends were all good, healthy people.  I wrestled and was on the track team and in High School started racing bikes at the local velodrome.

And all through college and now my adulthood, it is so great to know that my mom is done working.

Rumor has it that she is on facebook now.  She’s golfing and playing gin with her friends and I can tell that she is having a blast.

Last weekend we celebrated.  I hooked up a nice wasabi-rubbed grilled lamb dinner.  And we watched UFC on pay-per view.  That’s right, my mom will even watch UFC with me. haha!

So congratulations mom, I am so excited for you!  Well deserved!

As a cautionary note, I want to warn all of my peeps to watch for a white Subaru Outback.  Because she’s retired, it means she may be driving more now and her driving record is a little shabby.  So just as a precaution, if you see a white Subaru Outback on the roads, just play it safe.  Get in the furthest lane from it as possible.  When passing, pass quickly and get yourself a good distance ahead and you should be OK.

I know that the family in this music video resembles my family, but no it’s not really us.  Although it is a pretty close representation… (minus the “crack fiend, different daddy’s, and jail cells, perhaps…) haha! OK my life was nothing like this… But  I’ll still dedicate this to my mama in perfect G-fashion!

(tupac, the legend!)

June 18, 2010 |