happy birthday majjy

me: happy birthday majjayyy!
maj: happy birthday to meeee! yippee!!!

my parents birthdays are a week apart which makes for a good birthday extravaganza around my house. here's my mom in the pose she's in most often: talking on the cell phone.
hmm i have a few mom stories.
when we were little, she told us that we were so smart and capable and fun and that we should figure out what we like to do and find a way to make money doing it. i think those lessons have carried me through my life with confidence and a sense that things will work out.
actually my favorite mom story involves maj and me.
she had a tumor on her pituitary gland in her 20s so they told her she probably wouldn't be able to have kids. so a couple of months after my parents got married, they were on a wine tasting tour in napa valley and my mom got sick after she had a sip of wine at dinner, and she was in tears because she thought her body was rejecting it because she was an alcoholic. so my dad was all angry because they were on this wine tour and my mom wouldn't drink any wine. but my grandma said that all of her symptoms sounded like she might be pregnant.. and she was!
(who remembers the face transformer? you should be thankin' your lucky stars i chose anime mom and not monkey mom for this post.)
i think some of my favorite things about my mom are her use of the word 'minchy' which means crabby, more or less. and that we both see 11:11 (angel hour) on the clock all the time. and that she taught me that there are no accidents and instilled all sorts of good metaphysical beliefs in me as a little kid. and that we're really close and i know she loves me unconditionally.
when i was a freshman in high school, everyone else was really excited about homecoming and i found out about 'mum's' which are these giant white chrysanthemums with ribbons and all sorts of things hanging off of them and i was kind of sad that i wouldn't have one, but then on homecoming morning my mom surprised me with one she had made at a florist. it was giant and had my name on it and all of my activities and it was perfect.
and in elementary school she came to talk to my class about recycling and i was so proud that she was my mom. althoughhh, that same year, she forgot to pick me and our carpool buddy chadwick up from school and it was raining and we hid under the slide for a while and finally went in the school but i couldn't remember my phone number and it was horrific. but everyone makes mistakes.
so love you majtown. happy birthday! i hope someone makes you crepes. nutritious and delicious.