...My mother.
Who's amazing.
And who I miss. A lot.
Happy to be on the beach, her favorite place...
If you know my mom, I'm sure you think she's amazing, too. (And if you don't know her, you should meet her, I promise you'll laugh a lot and definitely be fed way more food than you knew you needed!).
In a thank-you note to my mom for a graduation present, my BFF Christina wrote,
"You're every girl's dream best-friend's-mom. Funny, but true!" (I love that).
It is true. From genuinely caring about my friends' lives and providing a sympathetic ear (or indignant comment, if the story is one of a jerky significant other, for example), offering to let them live with her for the summer to complete a Baltimore internship, driving everyone around for the entirety of our middle-school careers, or just providing mountains of nachos and slice and bake cookies, she makes all of Al's and my friends feel comfortable and cared for in our home.
For homecoming one year, we planned a sleepover at my house. Unbeknownst to me, one of my good friends had not-so-great a time at the dance and went home early. She called my house and asked my mom what time she was expecting the rest of the crowd. My mom's reply? "Oh, I have no idea, but come on over and hang out with me!". I walked in a couple hours later to find them snuggled under a blanket watching a movie. Obviously.
With my roommates at Macaroni Grill this winter :-)
This year I had a bad cough that resulted in a scary ER trip and a million and five blood tests, etc. It turned out to be nothing serious but she still wondered if she should come out to school to be with me. I assured her no, absolutely not, I was fine... hung up the phone... ran into my freshman roommate and burst into tears that I wanted my mom. Her response was, "Emily, I know your mom. She'd want to come." I called her back and only managed to say, "Mom... can you come?" before starting to cry again, but I needn't have worried- she'd already bought a plane ticket. She was there 18 hours later to hold my hand and take me to the doctor and just be with me in that reassuring way only moms have. (This story still makes me tear up just to write.)
Checking on her poor sick daughter...
She's incredibly inclusive. I love that we had a rule growing up that birthday parties either had to be small or invite the whole class- none of this who's-in-who's-out business. If it was more work for her, so be it, rather than have anyone's feelings be unnecessarily hurt.
She came to visit Wheaton in October and we had an awesome time... she was extremely proud of herself for painting this beautiful mug with palm trees on it:
She's one of the most encouraging people in the entire world. My entire life I've found cards in my backpack, sock drawer (true story), on my pillow for no particular reason... "Dear Emily, I am so glad I am your mom, Love, Mom", "Dear Emily, I love you more than the moon and the stars, Love, Mom". When I got to Bolivia I opened my suitcase and sure enough, there was a card for my first night.
She's hilarious and playful. Take this for an example:
(If you can't read it, the sign says, "Please take care of me, Thanks, A Little Green Suitcase"). Similar notes have been left from "Your Messy Room" and "The Dishes You Should Do".
One time she was having a dinner party and decided there's no reason that life should be boring just because they're not teenagers anymore... so as a throwback... she made it hippie themed... complete with costumes and a joint-rolling contest (using oregano!). (Don't be mad at me for posting that, it's hilarious).
My mom with some of her cool friends who she has hippie-themed dinner parties with... Oh! At a baseball game... that's another thing... she's obsessed with the Orioles.
She makes me cool birthday cakes with hearts on them like this:
If I were there I would make you a cake, Mama!
Throughout my senior year of high school, she packed me a lunch every day, and of course the napkin always read, "Have a Great Day Love Mom!!!". This is a big joke in our family... after Allie's last day they had a big ceremonial Last-Lunch-Packing Moment of her motherhood career... and then the next week Al sheepishly remembered that her finals actually went over the lunch period and would she mind continuing this job just a few more days? She didn't mind.
She loves surprising the people she loves. Last summer when I lived with the Maloys one time after a bad day at work I came home to find a Kohl's bag hanging off the doorknob with my name written on it and a pretty pink shirt. (And of course, a note that read, "Love, the Shirt Fairy"). Frequently in my school days she'd show up at lunch with take out from Panera or Mad City.
One hard summer in high school, she woke me up one day with, "Get up, we're going white water tubing". She'd decided the moping needed something fun to shake itself off and had googled "Day Trips near Maryland", found a place that offered affordable river activities, and within an hour drove us off to West Virginia for the day. It's still one of my favorite memories.
She puts up with me even at my most weepy, irrational, or irritable, and knows when to make me finish whatever's stressing me out and when I need to take a break. The day before I left, she took one look at the overwhelmed expression on my face and said "I think you need a bagel and hummus" and whisked me off for lunch, even though we still had so much to do. The tasks were easier after that, as she knew they would be, in her mom way.
She's ridiculously competitive and annoyingly good at Scrabble.
She's one of the most creatively talented people I know... she sews like an expert without ever using patterns and can put a room together in a way I've never seen anyone else do:
The gorgeous quilt she made me for my freshman year of college.
The wall in our kitchen... who else would know how to put pictures together like that??
Our home is beautiful because of her efforts.
(She also figured out how to hang the curtains in my impossible-to-hang-curtains-in dorm room so well that half the floor copied).
This is the Goldberg Girls out to dinner for her birthday last year, at the restaurant where we always have our celebrations. When I talked to her this morning she told me that she and Allie are going there tonight, and, in her words, "It kind of sucks that you won't be there". I agree.
I miss my mom sooo much... but I couldn't do this trip without her love and support. Despite the fears and hassles that come with having a kid traipsing across the world, she has provided consistent encouragement, support, snuggling, detail-provisions (Visa application, anyone?), and always the belief that I can do this. We all need our moms to believe in us and mine always, always does, even when I don't believe in myself. I'm so, so, so lucky.
She's one of the most compassionate, integrity-filled, thoughtful, funny, caring people I know and she's done an amazing job showing me and Allie that she loves being our parent.
OK... now I'm crying. I miss my mom.
I love you more than the moon and the stars, Mom.
Who's amazing.
And who I miss. A lot.
Happy to be on the beach, her favorite place...If you know my mom, I'm sure you think she's amazing, too. (And if you don't know her, you should meet her, I promise you'll laugh a lot and definitely be fed way more food than you knew you needed!).
In a thank-you note to my mom for a graduation present, my BFF Christina wrote,
"You're every girl's dream best-friend's-mom. Funny, but true!" (I love that).
It is true. From genuinely caring about my friends' lives and providing a sympathetic ear (or indignant comment, if the story is one of a jerky significant other, for example), offering to let them live with her for the summer to complete a Baltimore internship, driving everyone around for the entirety of our middle-school careers, or just providing mountains of nachos and slice and bake cookies, she makes all of Al's and my friends feel comfortable and cared for in our home.
For homecoming one year, we planned a sleepover at my house. Unbeknownst to me, one of my good friends had not-so-great a time at the dance and went home early. She called my house and asked my mom what time she was expecting the rest of the crowd. My mom's reply? "Oh, I have no idea, but come on over and hang out with me!". I walked in a couple hours later to find them snuggled under a blanket watching a movie. Obviously.
With my roommates at Macaroni Grill this winter :-)This year I had a bad cough that resulted in a scary ER trip and a million and five blood tests, etc. It turned out to be nothing serious but she still wondered if she should come out to school to be with me. I assured her no, absolutely not, I was fine... hung up the phone... ran into my freshman roommate and burst into tears that I wanted my mom. Her response was, "Emily, I know your mom. She'd want to come." I called her back and only managed to say, "Mom... can you come?" before starting to cry again, but I needn't have worried- she'd already bought a plane ticket. She was there 18 hours later to hold my hand and take me to the doctor and just be with me in that reassuring way only moms have. (This story still makes me tear up just to write.)
Checking on her poor sick daughter...She's incredibly inclusive. I love that we had a rule growing up that birthday parties either had to be small or invite the whole class- none of this who's-in-who's-out business. If it was more work for her, so be it, rather than have anyone's feelings be unnecessarily hurt.
She came to visit Wheaton in October and we had an awesome time... she was extremely proud of herself for painting this beautiful mug with palm trees on it:
She's one of the most encouraging people in the entire world. My entire life I've found cards in my backpack, sock drawer (true story), on my pillow for no particular reason... "Dear Emily, I am so glad I am your mom, Love, Mom", "Dear Emily, I love you more than the moon and the stars, Love, Mom". When I got to Bolivia I opened my suitcase and sure enough, there was a card for my first night.
She's hilarious and playful. Take this for an example:
(If you can't read it, the sign says, "Please take care of me, Thanks, A Little Green Suitcase"). Similar notes have been left from "Your Messy Room" and "The Dishes You Should Do".
One time she was having a dinner party and decided there's no reason that life should be boring just because they're not teenagers anymore... so as a throwback... she made it hippie themed... complete with costumes and a joint-rolling contest (using oregano!). (Don't be mad at me for posting that, it's hilarious).
My mom with some of her cool friends who she has hippie-themed dinner parties with... Oh! At a baseball game... that's another thing... she's obsessed with the Orioles.She makes me cool birthday cakes with hearts on them like this:
If I were there I would make you a cake, Mama!Throughout my senior year of high school, she packed me a lunch every day, and of course the napkin always read, "Have a Great Day Love Mom!!!". This is a big joke in our family... after Allie's last day they had a big ceremonial Last-Lunch-Packing Moment of her motherhood career... and then the next week Al sheepishly remembered that her finals actually went over the lunch period and would she mind continuing this job just a few more days? She didn't mind.
She loves surprising the people she loves. Last summer when I lived with the Maloys one time after a bad day at work I came home to find a Kohl's bag hanging off the doorknob with my name written on it and a pretty pink shirt. (And of course, a note that read, "Love, the Shirt Fairy"). Frequently in my school days she'd show up at lunch with take out from Panera or Mad City.
One hard summer in high school, she woke me up one day with, "Get up, we're going white water tubing". She'd decided the moping needed something fun to shake itself off and had googled "Day Trips near Maryland", found a place that offered affordable river activities, and within an hour drove us off to West Virginia for the day. It's still one of my favorite memories.
She puts up with me even at my most weepy, irrational, or irritable, and knows when to make me finish whatever's stressing me out and when I need to take a break. The day before I left, she took one look at the overwhelmed expression on my face and said "I think you need a bagel and hummus" and whisked me off for lunch, even though we still had so much to do. The tasks were easier after that, as she knew they would be, in her mom way.
She's ridiculously competitive and annoyingly good at Scrabble.
She's one of the most creatively talented people I know... she sews like an expert without ever using patterns and can put a room together in a way I've never seen anyone else do:
The gorgeous quilt she made me for my freshman year of college.
The wall in our kitchen... who else would know how to put pictures together like that??Our home is beautiful because of her efforts.
(She also figured out how to hang the curtains in my impossible-to-hang-curtains-in dorm room so well that half the floor copied).
This is the Goldberg Girls out to dinner for her birthday last year, at the restaurant where we always have our celebrations. When I talked to her this morning she told me that she and Allie are going there tonight, and, in her words, "It kind of sucks that you won't be there". I agree.I miss my mom sooo much... but I couldn't do this trip without her love and support. Despite the fears and hassles that come with having a kid traipsing across the world, she has provided consistent encouragement, support, snuggling, detail-provisions (Visa application, anyone?), and always the belief that I can do this. We all need our moms to believe in us and mine always, always does, even when I don't believe in myself. I'm so, so, so lucky.
She's one of the most compassionate, integrity-filled, thoughtful, funny, caring people I know and she's done an amazing job showing me and Allie that she loves being our parent.
OK... now I'm crying. I miss my mom.
I love you more than the moon and the stars, Mom.
4 comments:
My Mom said "If I was her mom, that would make me feel good." We love you Ms. Elaine and we love you Emily :) love, Heather and Mrs. Pat
Emily, this made ME cry! Here's to the Goldberg women... (imagine me legally sipping a glass of champagne)
oh Emily - now I'm crying too! Happy belated Birthday to your mom (who seems like an amazingly awesome lady)! :)
haha... this made me laugh and tear up too! <3
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