Thankful Thursday

Well, it's Thursday. I'm sure we're all thankful tomorrow is Friday. Unfortunately, I'm having a hard time being thankful for much else because I feel like major crap-ola - the first cold of 2010 is in full force. I'm annoyed at myself for taking a sick day yesterday because I feel much worse today, and now I have twice as much stuff do deal with today. Oh well, such is life. Time to be THANKFUL!

Yesterday was my mother's birthday. 28 years ago today she was about ready to pop and I'm sure very anxious to give birth to her first born (my bday is exactly a week after hers). Obviously, I'm thankful to her for bringing me into this world, drug-free, I might add. My child(ren) will not be able to say the same of me, that's for sure. Although, my mom and I are not "close" or "the best of friends" and I have never been one to "tell my mother anything," she's always been a great mom. She taught me a lot, and looking back, had an insane amount of patience. Just the idea of letting an 8 year old in my kitchen to "help" make chocolate chip cookies, makes my chest tighten. But, she did it. I think she actually wanted me in there cooking with her. Well, I thank her because I've always known my way around the kitchen and I believe she (and Food Network, of course) is responsible for my love of all things cooking.

I think the biggest thing I owe her is my sense of independence in every sense of the word. I have always been independent and liked being that way. Once I started working, I paid for a lot of stuff on my own. I was never one of those kids whose parents paid their car payment, car insurance, took them out shopping, or paid for their schooling. Anything financial, I took care of myself. Sure, I had to borrow a little money from the rents here or there, but I never expected it. It was very hard to be in my late teens and early twenties and see many of my friends getting most of that stuff paid for, but I think it gave me a sense of self-reliance earlier on - I was more than ready to move out and become an adult when the time came.

So today, on this Thursday of lameness, I'm am thankful for my mother who sacrificed so much of herself to make me the woman I am today.