For as long as I can remember, my mom was always the "Cool Mom". She was the one person in the room who could walk among strangers and walk out with friends.
I yearned to be like her, to be confident in myself no matter what. I didn't succeed in high school, where I longed to stay blended into the walls to avoid detection. I never saw my mom without her self-assurance.
Not to say we didn't have our arguments or fights. My teenage years with her were mostly locking horns and trying to pin each other down to be the dominant one, but after I got married, she and I became more like friends. She told me she had always wanted our relationship to be that of friends, but growing up I needed a parent more than I needed a friend. So once she was sure she had done her job of raising me, she became my friend. She gave me marriage advice, friend advice, work advice. We can joke around together, like in the above picture. (The one in the purple is my sister Kelie, and the one holding the toy guitar is my mom...I'm the one in the glasses.)
But even in high school, between the fights and screaming matches, I realized she WAS pretty cool. She never tried to be cool, like most parents did. She was just her usual, chatty, friendly self. She knew the latest dirty jokes, had stories from her bowling trips, and we just enjoyed hanging out, whether at home or at the mall. I was never ashamed she was my mom. I didn't care who knew it. She was the greatest. She overcame so much, and turned into a strong, wonderful woman.
Even now, I know I can always turn to her for parenting advice, and she's always done really well with not overstepping my rules or boundries. She's turned into the world's greatest grandma, but I'll be honest...I'm always worried I won't be as good a mother as she was and is.
But beware....what happens at grandma's...stays at grandma's. :)
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