As I've mentioned before, my mother is participating in the Chicago Triathlon Marathon for Teams in Training. If you'd like to help out, here's the link for on-line donations.

So, on my mother's day post, I mentioned that my mom is training for the Chicago Triathalon Marathon and also raising money for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society through Team in Training. Her goal is to raise $2000. TBWITWW and I are going to be donating, but being poor and all, we aren't able to give a whole lot. But I figure if I can spread the word, maybe some of you out there can kick in a little too. That'd be sweet. Here is the link to her Team in Training homepage. Any little bit will help.
She is participating in this event to support James Welander, who has recently had a bone marrow transplant; Jesse Pagels who has recently finished radiation therepy and a bone marrow transplant; and David Bielby II who is currently in remission.

Today is Mother's Day.

The House of Representatives in May, 1913, unanimously adopted a resolution requesting the President, his Cabinet, members of Congress, and all officials of the federal government to wear a white carnation on Mother's Day. Congress passed another Joint Resolution May 8, 1914, designating the second Sunday in May as Mother's Day. The U.S. flag is to be displayed on government buildings and at people's homes "as a public expression of our love and reverence for the mothers of our country." President Woodrow Wilson issued the first proclamation making Mother's Day an official national holiday. from: All About Mother's Day

While it's sad that it takes an act of Congress to remind us to call our mothers, it's important that we do. And when your mother is as amazing as mine (which yours probably isn't... nothing personal, but my Mom is fan-freakin-tastic) you have a lot to be thankful for.
My mom fits in to many molds and then shatters the hell out of each and every one of them. She came from a large family where she worked hard to help raise 8 other kids. She met my dad on a blind date. She got married and pregnant (with me!) young. Went to school part time and worked full time. Finished her degree. and had another kid. Ho-hum. But the thing is that nothing is ho-hum when you're a Mother. Because each of the things she has done are a major accomplishment for anyone and when you put them together, it's beyond comprehension the will-power and strength of character that it takes to do all of it and do it well.
And of course we didn't make it any easier (and still don't, that's part of our charm) See, both of her children are male, as is her husband (which should come as no surprise) and we're also a bunch of sarcastic, cantankerous, stubborn, unreasonable, smart-asses. In many ways, to us, taunting is the same as saying "I love you." and in retrospect, she has gotten more than her share of the taunting from any one of us, and then that's multiplied by 3. Little things, like the inter-city high school rivalry... she went to the "other" school. My dad, my brother and I all went to the same school (had some of the same teachers too). So she'd get grief for that. And she took it, and took it and took it, and still takes it. But she never gave it back, becuase she's smart enough to know that when you want to say "I love you", saying "I love you" is really a better way than saying something like "You make monkeys look polite, assface." which is more along the lines of the way the males in our family think. So yeah.
Then there's the strength of character she has for herself. Getting married young and poor and having a kid right off before you've finished college, and marrying a guy who works in a guitar shop is not the best plan from a financial point of view. So mom worked. Finished college and got a degree in something marketable (as opposed to psychology, theater and philosophy like the men in this family) and then worked and worked some more to make sure that we grew up normal and happy. All this time, at heart, my mother has been an explorer and wanderer as much as the rest of the family. For years she put aside that wanderlustand worked her corporate 9-5 job while Dad played in a band, I did theater and my brother was a little rat-bastard. It built inside her, and yet she put the three of us before her own dreams.
It paid off. I'm happy with my life, and have married a woman who is on par with my mother for sheer mind-bending amazement level. My brother is happy with his life and has more potential than stem cells, and my Dad, well, that lucky bastard gets to spend every day of his life with an amazing woman whom he loves and even more amazing, loves him back. And now that I've got my own family, and my brother is on his way into the world as a college graduate with a degree in philosophy and a remarkable ability to seperate diners from tip-money, my mom is finally at a stage when she can let those dreams she's been holding for the last 30 years come sailing out. And boy is she. Yesterday my mother did the Indianapolis Mini-Marathon. Why? Because she doens't believe in doing things half way. Like me, if she's going to do something it's all or nothing. When she decided that 2 kids and 30 years of desk jobs had left her in a physical shape she didn't like, she didn't sign up for a gym membership and say I'll work my way up to fitness. Not my mom... she decided to do triathalons. This from a woman who didn't even like being near water, let alone swimming. If you're going to excersize, do it big! In August she'll be doing the Chicago Triathalon. But not just because she thinks that the excersize is good for her. That's not enough for her. She wants it to be good for other people too. So she's doing the triathlon for Teams in Training to help raise money for Lukemia patients.
Amazing.
My mom gave so much of herself to help my brother, myself, and even my father grow up to be pretty good people over all. And now that she's got the time and the chance to follow those dreams, she's using them to help other people have better lives too.
There's just not enough I can say about how great my mom is except...

Thanks and I Love You!

TBWITWW is having a birthday today. Hooray. Send her an e-card or something. You can use this address if you don't know her address. It'll get to her.
I use the phrase "The Best Wife In The Whole World" somewhat jokingly, but all in all, I seriously believe that I couldn't have done any better. This is not to say that I think there are better women out there who are out of my reach, but rather that I don't think it's possible to come up with someone who fits my life better. We match in opinion on many things, but there's enough difference that we can actually have discussions that don't suck. Would you spend hours sitting around doing puzzles on a Friday night? We would... and do. So maybe we're old and boring, but we like it that way. It's good to just spend time together. That's what matters, I found a woman who I'm perfectly happy to just spend time with. (Plus she keeps me entertained. This morning after she got out of the shower she said: "I don't remember if I used soap.") And now she's another year older. So the rest of you can be jealous, because I'm the winner. So there.

Nicole, I Love You! Happy Birthday.

So... today is my parents' 27th wedding anniversary. They're really quite amazing. They met on a blind date, got married young, raised two fairly obnoxious children, and are still making it look a whole lot easier than it really is. They've been through some rough times. Some of those tough times they made, some they didn't... but they made it through. That alone is worthy of admiration. But the fact that in the process they raised us to be willing and wanting to work as hard as they have on a relationship adds another layer of amazement to what they've done.
Beyond merely staying together, a marriage is soemthing that has the risk of ending without seperation. I truly believe that they have managed to stay married all these years because they truly love each other. They love each other to the point that they don't understand the concept of not loving each other. Sounds great... but that can bring problems of its own. When someone is that much a part of your life, you sometimes forget that they are there at all. You make desisions, confident that what's right for you is right for them, because they are part of you. Luckily, after sharing so much, you're usually right, but those times when you're wrong, it can hurt so much more. Not only do you hurt someone else, you hurt the part of you that is that person. A relationship that close takes so much work to get through the hard times, but the good times are so much better for the same reasons. You never have to worry about having someone to share your joy with. And joy is not something you can keep to yourself. The littlest things are expanded by sharing them. Finding the $5 bill on the sidewalk is a personal acheivement when you tell someone else. Finding a CD you really like is better when someone is there to be happy for your find... it doesn't matter if they couldn't be paid to listen to the music on the CD, they are still glad that you got it.
People often talk about taking things one day at a time. I think this is too much... take things in 10 minute bursts. When you look at it that way, it's almost impossible to have a bad day. Sleeping is good. There's a several dozen good things. A meal, even a mediocre one will fill in a couple of good chunks. And when something is bad, your ten minutes are over soon and you can move on.
Everything that I believe and everything I know to be true I owe to may parents on one level or another. Their good and bad times taught me that the bad is worthwhile because it makes the good even better, and that in the end, the bad is insignificant in proportion to the good. I love, and respect my parents more than I'll ever be able to tell them. My wish for them is that when they hit 30 years, and 40, and 50, and however far they go into the future, that they will be as passionate, determined, faithful and adventurous as they are today. I hope they always remember to see the bad things as spice for the meat that is the good.
JTE + PJE February 12, 1977

Today is my mom's birthday. She is a truly remarkable woman. She's been through a lot, some good, some bad, and she's been amazing throughout. I really can't say anything that would accurately express how lucky I am to have been raised by this woman. (She did have some help, but for at least today, Dad gets the blame for all the bad habits.) My mother taught me resilience, strenghth of spirit, compassion, and that waiting tables is as important of a job as programming computers. I've done much in my life and much of it would not have happened without her strength.
Happy Birthday Mom!