My Mom Knows the Words to Every Disney Song

I know I've jumped the gun a bit since Mother's Day is still a week and a half away but next Wednesday is already reserved for another special post so I'll just have to talk about how great my mom is a little sooner.The idea of motherhood is still something I find unbelievable. Not only do mothers grow and support a tiny creature with their own body, they then have to extricate it painfully from their body, and then, of course, support it for the next eighteen years give or take a few. And while western countries are slowly becoming more progressive in terms of divvying up childcare responsibilities, in most parts of the world, mothers do most of the child-rearing work, especially at the beginning. Motherhood requires such selflessness, patience, and nurturing. Therefore, I find it extremely difficult to wrap my mind around this concept since I, on the other hand, can barely keep a damn cactus alive, much less a helpless little human.Consequently, I believe mothers deserve an ENORMOUS shoutout. And of course, like most people who love their mothers, I think my mom is the BEST. Not only did she put up with, excuse me SHUT DOWN, all of my petty shit, she also made me resilient which might be one of my most important traits. Oh, and she also made me taller than average which I LOVE.My mom is a very no-nonsense person on the surface. One of her favorite lines to feed me and my sister was "crying doesn't solve anything". Sounds harsh, but she's right, isn't she? I can count on one hand how many times I've seen her breakdown, and if she decides to keep a straight face, she's almost impossible to crack. One of the perks of being a swimmer was that she had to control her yelling since she knew I couldn't hear her from the water. She doesn't give in to puppy dog eyes, pouting, screaming, crying, or begging. I hardly got in trouble because all it took was one look from her to make me feel so guilty about whatever line I had toed, that I never did it again.On the other hand, and she may kill me for outing her this way, she is a child at heart. Once you crack the surface even a little bit, she's a total jokester. She's the reason me and my sister know ALL the words to every Disney song, her sarcasm is off the charts, and she does enjoy the occasional harmless prank. She would tickle me and my sister mercilessly and would make up tons of ridiculous voices when she read us stories.Despite all of the above traits, there are specific things that my mom did that really turned me into the person I am today. One of the most vivid memories I have is when I was probably about seven or eight and I remember my mom was in the upstairs bathroom getting ready and we were arguing about something - I have no idea what - when I told her I hated her. I remember being LIVID (or as livid as a seven-year-old can be) and shouting that at her. She calmly set down her makeup and walked straight past me down the stairs. I ran after her screaming my head off to tell me what she was doing. She made it all the way to the garage door, I was now crying, and I yelled, "where are you going?". She turned and told me she was leaving. She said, if I hated her so much, she would leave so she didn't cause me any more trouble. Oh boy did I backtrack after that. I was practically weeping and pleading that she didn't go, and that I didn't mean it. Because of that instance, as well as a few others, I always endeavour to mean what I say and say what I mean.My mom is also a great study in small talk. I'm only now using some of her techniques, but she was always so great making small talk at the grocery store, with her colleagues, and at parties she didn't even want to be at. I've always admired this about her, and now that I'm older, I realize how important this skill really is. She's the kind of person that everybody feels comfortable with. I have no idea how she does it, but maybe I can figure it out sooner rather than later.Probably my favorite characteristic about my mom is how open she always strived to be. For example, at the first signs of puberty, my mom handed me a bunch of books on the subject and told me to come to her with any questions. This technique made sense for me since I was a voracious reader. The part that was amazing though, was that she truly meant it. I was able to ask her anything. Sure, some questions were a little awkward, but she answered every single one and never made me feel judged for asking. And no matter what, she always made it clear that it was much more important to her that I was safe and happy than anything else. When I told her I was ready for sex, she took me to get birth control no questions asked. When I would go out with friends, she told me to call if I drank because she'd rather come pick me up than have me drive myself for fear of her finding out and getting in trouble.This article is already getting too long, but I could go on about my mom FOREVER. She's the reason I have such discipline to work out. Her eyes are the coolest shade of gray/blue/green. She makes killer baklava. She loves to watch animated movies with me and my sister. And she ALWAYS picks up the phone when I call her even though I'm the worst and only call her when I'm in transit. I can call her sobbing and she knows when to soothe me and when to tell me to buck up. She'll stroke my hair so gently it makes me sleepy and when I'm in town she's my ultimate gym buddy. Happy Early Mother's Day Mom, I'll see you tomorrow!