There's No Place like Mom's

My mom and I have shared special memories for the extent of my life, but I find the more I reflect, some of the best ones have come from the past 10 years or so.

Back in 2003-2004, my Junior/Senior years of high school we began a tradition of sitting each night and watching a few episodes of "Frasier." It was a great time to laugh together and was something we looked forward to. When we finally made it through the whole series (and this was buy the DVDs as they came, pre-Netflix days) I think we both felt like we were losing something. 

When I went to college, the visits back home were comfortable, and I could kick back and relax, knowing that just being there was a joy for both of us. With the implementation a few years before of my patented "spontaneous hugs," we could supplement the unspoken feelings from time to time with a good random hug.

My mom is also primarily reponsible for the fact that I can go home tonight and be with my wife here in the States.

She was the first to say go for it when I to her I wanted to marry Juliet, and she began filling out the Fiancé visa application and info with me as soon as I told her Juliet was the one.

I was in college with limited funds and she funded the application fees and costs to ultimately get Juliet here from Mexico. I owe so much to her for that.

When Juliet arrived my mom and her clicked instantly, like sisters, and we spent many of the weekends during our first years of marriage visiting with her as she endeavored to expose Juliet to as many of the fun things as possible. And it cost her to constantly treat the unemployed college kid and his wife to meals and entertainment, but she was so generous about it, and I'm sure got as much joy from those times as we did.

When Juliet and I moved to Austin she took us on one big trip to Colorado that is still one of my best memories. She is someone with whom 12 hour car rides are still fun, and the getting there is as good as the destination.

We spent our first years in Austin driving to Oklahoma for family visits as much as possible, and she was always ready with some fun agenda or plan to make the most of our time there.

Then, in March of last year, she moved to Austin. Now, usually once a week or two we cook out or go walking. Juliet and her have such a good dynamic that often I just sit back and observe the interaction. It's not that I don't have things to say, but I get great satisfaction from seeing them talking and joking with each other. 

The past few years our relationship has evolved to a very understanding level in which words are not always required to know how we feel. 

But, on this Mother's Day, I thought it a great time to reminisce on what a great mother God has given me. I can never repay her generosity, and I will never get tired of having her nearby. She is of the utmost importance to me, and I pray God blessed her abundantly on this day, and every day thereafter.

For my money, there's just no other place like mom's, and a visit there is always a great experience.

Happy Mother's Day, mom. I love you more than one blog can truly express, but it's a start!